DOCSLIB.ORG

The Emergen] Paradigm: Changing Patterns of Thought and Belief

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Emergen] Paradigm: Changing Patterns of Thought and Belief il THE EMERGEN] PARADIGM: CHANGINGPATTERNS OF THOUGHTAND BELIEF By PeterSchwartz and James Ogilvy April1979 AnalyticalReport Valuesand LifestylesProgram Eert & Afrlce SRI-SaudiArabia XEADOUAFTERS,OFFICES SR|-Europc,Mlddlc RegionalHeadquarters P.O.Box 1871 AND LABORATORlES NLA Tower Riyadh,Saudi Arabia 12l16Addiscombe Rd. Teleohones:69009 rSRl Villat Croydon CROOXT, England 23800,22816 Teleohone:,01681-1751 'ProjectOf fice, ,01 686-5555 MinistrYof Planningt Intcrnrllonrl SR! Cable:SRI INTLRIYADH Offices and Laboratories Cable:SRI INTL EUR Marn Telex: 20326POLYBAU SJ RavenswoodAve Telex:SRI EUR,CROYDON 333 rSRlVillat Menlo Park,CA 94025 946125 PLAN SJ Telephone:,415326-6200 20075 ,Proiect Of f ice r Cable:SRI INTL MPK SRl-ltaly TWX: 910-373-1246 Via Carlo Poma 4 Telecopier. 415 326-5512 20129Milan, ltalY SRI-EartArle r02r Telex: 334463 Telephone:Of fice 71 55 35 RegionalHeadquarters tO2t Office 74 90 536 EdobashiBldg., 9th Floor i02t 46 Home 72 32 11-1, Nihonbashi 1-Chome Telex:33188 Chuo-Ku,TckYo 103' JaPan SRI - FRANCESCHINI SRI-Washington Teleohone:r03r 271-7108 1611N. KentSt Cable:SRIEA, TOKYO SRl-France Arlington, VA 22209 Telex. SRI INTL J28447 10,Rue Bellini Telephone:r 703 524-2053 75782- Paris Cedex 16, France Cable.SRI INTL WDC SRI-lndonesta Telephone:r01 r 55392 31 Telecopier:r703, 524-3479 SRI International r01r 55328 66 PertaminaDiv.- r01r 72753 19 AdvancedTechnologY SRI-NewYork Telex:61 1042 13th Floor,Pertamina Tower 360 LexingtonAve , 21stFloor 8,J1MHThamrin New York,NY 10017 SRl-lberia Jakarta,Indonesia Telephone.'212'661-5313 Orense62 Telephone:353729 Madrid20, Spain 354837 Teleohone:t01 r 455-1057 349286 SRI-Chicago Cable:SRI INTL,MADRID Telex:44331 PERTAJKT 2625Butlerfreld Rd Telex:42604 SRI E Oak Brook, lL 60521 SRf -Ausl ralia/New Zealand Teleohone: 312 887-7730 SRl-Scandinavia 'l'14William St., 21st Floor Humlegardsgatan4 Melbourne,Victoria 300O S-11446 Stockholm,Sweden Australia ,08, SRl-Alaska Telephone. 23 35 65 P.O.Box 2621 MendenhallEuilding Cable:SRISCANDINAVIA G.P.O.Melbourne 30O1 3264th St No 1104 STOCKHOLM Australia Juneau.AK 99801 Telex: 19617SRI S TelePhone:r03r 674 915 Teleghone:,907'586-2658 Telex:AA 35193 SRI-UnitedKingdom 5th Floor SRI-Hawaii 24 BuckinghamGate Crty Bank Building,Suite 805 LondonSWlE 6LB, England 810Richards St. Telephone:r01 r 828-7645 P.O.Box 1232 Honolulu.Hl 96807 SRI-Zurich Telephone:,808,533-3376 Pelikanstrasse37 8001Zurich, Switzerland Telephone:r01 r 21106 36 Cable:SRINTLCH Telex: 55132SRI CH CONTENTS FOREWORD... PART I - SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS 2 SUMMARY 2 Introduction...' 2 Patterns and Processesof a Paradigm Shift 5 The Support for an EmergentPattern 10 Patterns of Change 16 IMPLICATIONS. 16 Mechanismsof Change .'.. 16 The Individual . 19 Society 20 Politics 27 Scienceand TechnologY 22 Business 22 lr4anagement..'.. 23 Personnel l r^-!-^a^ 24 MATKEIS 24 Products 25 Regulationand Public Attitudes 25 Goals, 26 A Final Note on ImPlications " ' ' PART II - THE PARADIGM SHIFT IN DEPTH: PROCESS,SUPPORT, AND PATTERN 28 WHAT IS A PARADIGM? 28 TheDefinition'.'.,.. 30 Paradigms,RealitY, and Truth 31 THE SUPPORTFOR A PARADIGM SHIFT 31 Physics 31 The Current Paradigm 32 The New Physics 34 Chemistry Brain Theory 35 36 Mathematics . ... 39 Biology 42 Philosophy 44 Political Theory 46 Linguistics 46 Consciousness. ' 47 Psychology 4B Religion and SpiritualitY 49 The Arts 51 THE CHARACTEzuSTICSOF THE EMERGENTPARADIGM 51 Knowing 54 Ordering 56 Causing From Unity to MultiPlicitYand Back Again J/ 59 GLOSSARY 61 BIBLIOGRAPHY 8 Box What is a Hologram? 11 Box Heterarchy FIGURES 3 1 The Role of Paradigms in Human Affairs 37 2 Forms of CatastroPhe 40 3 Model of Aggressionin Dogs TABLES 6 1 The Paradigm Shift in Each Area ' 72 z The Support for a ParadigmShift ' 13 3 The Shift in Qualities . .. ' tv FOREWORI) It's oll o guestion of story. We ore in trouble iust the individual psychological search for singular now becousewe do not hove o good story.We ore identity. in betweenstories. The OId Story -the occountot "You just how the world come to be ond how wefit into it - An old systemstheory axiom states, c8:r't do point things change together' is not functioning properly, ond we hove not one thing." The is that Ieorned the New Story. The OId Story sustoined When any aspect of our most basic belief structures is of that internal framework us /or o long period of time.It shoped our emo- altered. the other elements tionql ottitudes, provided us with life purpose, must also adjust. energized oction. It consecrotedsu/fering, inte- gruted knowledge, guided educotion. We owoke We find strong evidencethat a number of the under- in the morning ond knew where we were. We pinnings of our basicbeliefs are under challenge'That could onswer the questionsof our chiJdren.We .h"tt""g" is coming from a multifacetedrevolution of could identify crime, punish criminols. Every- the sort that we have experiencedonly a few times in thing wos token core o/ becouse the story wos the courseof our civilization's history: the revolution there. It did not rnake men good, it did not toke that began more than a century ago and has gathered awoy the poins ond stupiditiesof life, or mokefor momentum ever since involves as great a change as unfoiling wormth in humon ossociotion.But it the Copernican revolution or the emergenceof t}e study did provide o context in which life could function EnlighLnment. We believethat, by a systematic in o meoningful monner. of thl manifestationsof that revolution, it is possible to see the pattern of its dimensions and thereby an- ticipate some of its consequences. Thomas Berry saysit beautifully and we 88ree:we one between stories. In this report we call the stories What follows will attempt to cover a Sreat deal of porodigms or world views, but we are sayingthe same ground, exploring many different areas of human thing: a fundamental shift in basic beliefs and as- thought, inquiry, and actility. With such a scope,one sumptions about the nature of things and the human or two authors run risks of either a lack of depth or a condition is going on. Becausethose beliefs and as- focus on the trivial at the expenseof the significant, or sumptions are among the foundations of human exis- both. We hope we have been guilty of neither' tence, when they change,radical shifts in individual values and societalconditions will follow. This VALS Part I of this report presents a comprehensive sum- report presentsthe evidencefor the thesis that such a mary of the process,the supporting indications, and paradigm shift is under way and exploresthe poten- the pattern of the current paradigm shift; it also covers tial consequencesof that change. the implications for business.Part II recapitulatesthe substance of the analysis in depth' A glossary of Our purpose is to provide a framework for under- important terms and a bibliography of relevant read- standing one of the most potent forces for changein ings follow Part II. our time: a shift in humanity's image of reality and in self. It is so potent becausethose images and beliefs A number of people played an important role as are the foundations from which human values arise. helping to clarify our thinking and communication Every religious, spiritual, cultural, and political sys- *ull at pointing us in useful directions' The authors Paul tem in human history has embeddedwithin it, either want to thank especially Arnold Mitchell, "map" Willis explicitly or implicitly, a of the nature of Hawken, Edward Oshins, Hewitt Crane, Wil- things and what the human role in tlat nature is. It is Harman, Walter Hahn, Jon Mclntire, Alan Tryst, not surprising, for example,to find a parallel between liam Snow, Donald Michael, Marie Spengler,Thomas Klaus the hierarchical structures of monotlteism,'political C. Thomas, Michael Murphy, Sam Keen, and organization based on t}re singular head of state,and Krause. PART I Summary and Implications STJMMARY Introduction (2) The essence of our argument has to do with a new way of thinking about and perceiving the The world is round: a true description of reality, but world and ourselves.We make no claim that we once such a statement would have been false, foolish, as authors have begun to think or perceive in "fish" and heretical. Our beliefs about what is true and real the new manner. It's somewhat like we undergo fundamental shifts from time to time. And trying to describe what it will be like when we when our perceptionof the nature of things shifts,the evolve to walk on land. complex system of human life also shifts. The move- ment toward a global society can begin only when the earth shifts from a limited plane to a whirling sphere. Patterns and Processesof a Paradigm Copernicus and Galileo took the rnotion of celestial shift bodies out of the realm of the gods and brought it over A civilization's fundamental view of the nature of to the impersonal forces of nature - nature that could things has been called t+'orld view, Zeitgeist, epis- be understood by man. So began an era in which man, leme, and culturol porodigm. As a convention we will the individual, was ascendant. lVe created a politics adopt the term porodigm. Porodigm is rtsed in two where individual choice was at issue, not the will of SENSES: competing gods or divinely endowed kings. We created a technology applying the comprehensible (1) Paradigm case: an example r re use to teach and predictable forces of nature. We created an eco- basic concepts, which has a metaphorical na- nomic system in which individual effort could lead to ture (e.g.,the father as the paradigm for author- making real progress rather than being perpetually itv). locked in a divinely rationalized economic order. (2) The whole pattern of such metaphors, r'r'hich "map" of a of reality When there are major shifts in the fundamental pat- leads to the internalization belief tern of knowledge and belief, the whole of the human or a system.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Philosophical Underpinnings of Educational Research
    The Philosophical Underpinnings of Educational Research Lindsay Mack Abstract This article traces the underlying theoretical framework of educational research. It outlines the definitions of epistemology, ontology and paradigm and the origins, main tenets, and key thinkers of the 3 paradigms; positivist, interpetivist and critical. By closely analyzing each paradigm, the literature review focuses on the ontological and epistemological assumptions of each paradigm. Finally the author analyzes not only the paradigm’s weakness but also the author’s own construct of reality and knowledge which align with the critical paradigm. Key terms: Paradigm, Ontology, Epistemology, Positivism, Interpretivism The English Language Teaching (ELT) field has moved from an ad hoc field with amateurish research to a much more serious enterprise of professionalism. More teachers are conducting research to not only inform their teaching in the classroom but also to bridge the gap between the external researcher dictating policy and the teacher negotiating that policy with the practical demands of their classroom. I was a layperson, not an educational researcher. Determined to emancipate myself from my layperson identity, I began to analyze the different philosophical underpinnings of each paradigm, reading about the great thinkers’ theories and the evolution of social science research. Through this process I began to examine how I view the world, thus realizing my own construction of knowledge and social reality, which is actually quite loose and chaotic. Most importantly, I realized that I identify most with the critical paradigm assumptions and that my future desired role as an educational researcher is to affect change and challenge dominant social and political discourses in ELT.
    [Show full text]
  • Overturning the Paradigm of Identity with Gilles Deleuze's Differential
    A Thesis entitled Difference Over Identity: Overturning the Paradigm of Identity With Gilles Deleuze’s Differential Ontology by Matthew G. Eckel Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy Dr. Ammon Allred, Committee Chair Dr. Benjamin Grazzini, Committee Member Dr. Benjamin Pryor, Committee Member Dr. Patricia R. Komuniecki, Dean College of Graduate Studies The University of Toledo May 2014 An Abstract of Difference Over Identity: Overturning the Paradigm of Identity With Gilles Deleuze’s Differential Ontology by Matthew G. Eckel Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy The University of Toledo May 2014 Taking Gilles Deleuze to be a philosopher who is most concerned with articulating a ‘philosophy of difference’, Deleuze’s thought represents a fundamental shift in the history of philosophy, a shift which asserts ontological difference as independent of any prior ontological identity, even going as far as suggesting that identity is only possible when grounded by difference. Deleuze reconstructs a ‘minor’ history of philosophy, mobilizing thinkers from Spinoza and Nietzsche to Duns Scotus and Bergson, in his attempt to assert that philosophy has always been, underneath its canonical manifestations, a project concerned with ontology, and that ontological difference deserves the kind of philosophical attention, and privilege, which ontological identity has been given since Aristotle.
    [Show full text]
  • The Theory of Everything
    The Theory of Everything R. B. Laughlin* and David Pines†‡§ *Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305; †Institute for Complex Adaptive Matter, University of California Office of the President, Oakland, CA 94607; ‡Science and Technology Center for Superconductivity, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801; and §Los Alamos Neutron Science Center Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 Contributed by David Pines, November 18, 1999 We discuss recent developments in our understanding of matter, we have learned why atoms have the size they do, why chemical broadly construed, and their implications for contemporary re- bonds have the length and strength they do, why solid matter has search in fundamental physics. the elastic properties it does, why some things are transparent while others reflect or absorb light (6). With a little more he Theory of Everything is a term for the ultimate theory of experimental input for guidance it is even possible to predict Tthe universe—a set of equations capable of describing all atomic conformations of small molecules, simple chemical re- phenomena that have been observed, or that will ever be action rates, structural phase transitions, ferromagnetism, and observed (1). It is the modern incarnation of the reductionist sometimes even superconducting transition temperatures (7). ideal of the ancient Greeks, an approach to the natural world that But the schemes for approximating are not first-principles has been fabulously successful in bettering the lot of mankind deductions but are rather art keyed to experiment, and thus tend and continues in many people’s minds to be the central paradigm to be the least reliable precisely when reliability is most needed, of physics.
    [Show full text]
  • World Views, Paradigms, and the Practice of Social Science Research
    01-Willis (Foundations)-45170.qxd 1/1/2007 12:01 PM Page 1 CHAPTER 1 World Views, Paradigms, and the Practice of Social Science Research Case 1. Quantitative Research Dr. James Jackson was concerned about whether a particular approach to teaching undergraduate courses is effective. The approach is called the per- sonalized system of instruction (PSI), developed by Fred Keller, a Columbia University psychologist and personal friend of B. F. Skinner. PSI (Martin, 1997) has been used for several decades in the sciences, but Dr. Jackson was not able to find convincing research about the suitability of PSI for humanities courses. Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) The PSI method of teaching was popular in the 1970s and is still used in many science classes. The content to be learned is divided into units or modules. Students get assignments with each module. When they think they have mastered a module, they come to class and take a test on that module. If they make 85% or more on the test, they get credit for the module and begin studying the next module. When they pass all the modules they are finished with the course and receive an A. In a course with 13 modules, anyone who completes all 13 might receive an A, students who finish 11 would receive Bs, and so on. The approach was called “personalized” because students could go at their own pace and decide when they wanted to be tested. Critics argued that PSI wasn’t very person- alized because all students had to learn the same content, which was selected by the instructor, and everyone was evaluated with the same objective tests.
    [Show full text]
  • The Relationship Between the Aristotelian, Newtonian and Holistic Scientific Paradigms and Selected British Detective Fiction 1980 - 2010
    THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ARISTOTELIAN, NEWTONIAN AND HOLISTIC SCIENTIFIC PARADIGMS AND SELECTED BRITISH DETECTIVE FICTION 1980 - 2010 HILARY ANNE GOLDSMITH A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Greenwich for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy July 2010 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the help and support I have received throughout my studies from the academic staff at the University of Greenwich, especially that of my supervisors. I would especially like to acknowledge the unerring support and encouragement I have received from Professor Susan Rowland, my first supervisor. iii ABSTRACT This thesis examines the changing relationship between key elements of the Aristotelian, Newtonian and holistic scientific paradigms and contemporary detective fiction. The work of scholars including N. Katherine Hayles, Martha A. Turner has applied Thomas S. Kuhn’s notion of scientific paradigms to literary works, especially those of the Victorian period. There seemed to be an absence, however, of research of a similar academic standard exploring the relationship between scientific worldviews and detective fiction. Extending their scholarship, this thesis seeks to open up debate in what was perceived to be an under-represented area of literary study. The thesis begins by identifying the main precepts of the three paradigms. It then offers a chronological overview of the developing relationship between these precepts and detective fiction from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sign of Four (1890) to P.D.James’s The Black Tower (1975). The present state of this interaction is assessed through a detailed analysis of representative examples of the detective fiction of Reginald Hill, Barbara Nadel, and Quintin Jardine written between 1980 and 2010.
    [Show full text]
  • Beyond the 'Theory of Everything' Paradigm: Synergetic Patterns And
    Beyond the ‘theory of everything’ paradigm: synergetic patterns and the order of the natural world Brian D. Josephson Jun. 12, 2021 ABSTRACT David Bohm suggested that some kind of implicate order underlies the manifest order observed in physical systems, while others have suggested that some kind of mind-like process underlies this order. In the following a more explicit picture is proposed, based on the existence of parallels between spontaneously fluctuating equilibrium states and life processes. Focus on the processes of natural language suggests a picture involving an evolving ensemble of experts, each with its own goals but nevertheless acting in harmony with each other. The details of how such an ensemble might function and evolve can translate into aspects of the world of fundamental physics such as symmetry and symmetry breaking, and can be expected to be the source of explicit models. This picture differs from that of regular physics in that goal-directedness has an important role to play, contrasting with that of the conventional view which implies a meaningless universe. INTRODUCTION Stephen Hawking said in 2000 ‘I think the next century will be the century of complexity’. Why he said this is unclear, but it is likely that he found the subject of complexity of interest, and thought it had much potential. The following argues that complexity is important in physics in a way unlikely to have been envisaged by Hawking, where we argue that the conventional ‘theory of everything’ approach is likely to be superseded by one where the logic of complex systems plays a central role, aspects of reality involving complex systems underlying the familiar laws of physics in the same way that descriptions involving atoms and molecules underlie the kinds of behaviour associated with macroscopic accounts of behaviour such as that of hydrodynamics.
    [Show full text]
  • Paradigm Schools Policy Handbook 2020-2021
    Paradigm Schools Policy Handbook 2020-2021 Paradigm High School and Paradigm Preparatory School Table of Contents Introduction 5 Mission and Vision Statement 5 Paradigm Declaration 6 Our “Why” 6 Philosophy and Vision 7 Fundamental Principles 7 Foundational Pillars 8 Paradigm Schools Values 9 Educational Philosophy 9 Service Leadership Education 10 The Trivium 12 Mentoring for Truth 13 Paradigm Growth Model 13 Accreditation 14 Paradigm Schools Teacher and Student Success Act (TSSA) Plan 14 Academic Program Structure and Policies 16 Assessment 16 Quality Work Policy 16 Mastery Projects 16 Assessment Rubric 17 Parent Notification 17 Enrollment 17 Transfer Scholars 17 Prohibiting Discrimination in the Public Schools 17 Military Access – Providing “Directory” Information to Military Recruiters 18 Language Services 18 Early Admittance 18 Choosing Curriculum 18 Graduation 19 State Graduation Requirements 19 Paradigm Graduation Requirements 19 Senior Thesis 19 Early Graduation 20 Graduation Ceremony and Participation 20 Valedictorian/Salutatorian 20 Seminar Classes 20 Off-Campus Study 21 Released Time 21 Other Avenues of Credit 21 Grade Changes 22 Retained Seniors 22 Academic Progress 22 Plagiarism 22 SEP Scholar Education Plans 22 2 Special Education 23 Health and Human Sexuality Education 23 Scholar Life and Scholar Accountability 25 School Expectations 25 An Effective Learning Culture 25 Honor 25 Accountability Process 26 Peace Center 27 Paradigm Afterschool Class 27 Suspensions and Expulsions 27 Behavior Codes 28 Dress Code 28 Uniform Policy
    [Show full text]
  • Methodological Paradigms
    METHODOLOGICAL PARADIGMS Elizabeth M. Pope, Ph.D. University of West Georgia [email protected] Learning Objectives 01 02 03 Understand what a Be familiar with Have comprehension methodological objective vs. of the various paradigm is. subjective ontologies. methodological paradigms in qualitative research. Ways of Understanding Reality ◦ Ontology – nature of reality ◦ Epistemology – theory of knowledge ◦ Methodology – approach for gathering “data” about knowledge ◦ Methodological paradigm = ontology (reality) + epistemology (knowledge) + methodology (gather knowledge) Identifying Different Paradigms (and Your Own) ◦ Bewilderment at wide array. ◦ Researchers create their own methodological paradigms. ◦ Theoretical perspectives within methodological paradigms help justify design choices. ◦ Questions to ask: ◦ What methods do we propose to use? ◦ What methodology governs our choice and use of methods? ◦ What theoretical perspective lies behind the methodology in question? ◦ What epistemology informs this theoretical perspective? Crotty’s Definitions (p. 3) ◦ Method: “the techniques or procedures used to gather and analyse data related to some research question or hypothesis.” Like questionnaires, surveys, experiments, interviews, or focus groups. ◦ Methodology: “the strategy, plan of action, process or design lying behind the choice and use of particular methods and linking the choice and use of your methods to the desired outcomes.” Like experimental, quasi- experimental, survey, interview, or narrative studies. ◦ Theoretical perspective:
    [Show full text]
  • Distinguishing Between Theory, Theoretical Framework, and Conceptual Framework: a Systematic Review of Lessons from the Field
    http://ijhe.sciedupress.com International Journal of Higher Education Vol. 7, No. 6; 2018 Distinguishing between Theory, Theoretical Framework, and Conceptual Framework: A Systematic Review of Lessons from the Field Dr. Charles Kivunja1, PhD. 1 School of Education, University of New England, Armidale NSW 2351, Australia Correspondence: Dr. Charles Kivunja, PhD., School of Education, University of New England, Armidale NSW 2351, Australia. E-mail: [email protected] Received: October 24, 2018 Accepted: November 26, 2018 Online Published: December 3, 2018 doi:10.5430/ijhe.v7n6p44 URL: https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v7n6p44 Abstract Across many years of teaching Research Methods and assessing many applications for admission into higher degree studies which require an understanding of theories, principles, strategies and skills needed to complete a higher degree such as a Masters or a PhD, one of the things I have found problematic for many students is the inability to articulate differences between theory, theoretical framework and a conceptual framework for a proposed research project. This paper uses experiential methodology to draw upon my experience in practice, and systematic literature review methodology to draw upon supporting scholarly literature by leaders in the field, to contribute to existing knowledge on the meaning of each of these concepts, and more importantly to distinguish between them in a study of Research Methods, and in particular as they relate to designing a research proposal and a thesis for a higher degree. The primary aim is to help the reader develop a firm grasp of the meaning of these concepts and how they should be used in academic research discourses.
    [Show full text]
  • Sustainability Science: a Paradigm in Crisis?
    sustainability Review Sustainability Science: A Paradigm in Crisis? Iván González-Márquez * and Víctor M. Toledo Ecosystem and Sustainability Research Institute (Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad/IIES), National Autonomous University of Mexico (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México/UNAM), Morelia 58190, Mexico; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 10 February 2020; Accepted: 24 March 2020; Published: 2 April 2020 Abstract: The global socio-environmental crisis poses what is arguably the greatest challenge in the history of science. It has demanded an interdisciplinary effort in which thousands of scientists from around the world have rapidly articulated what is already recognized as a consolidated research field: Sustainability science [SS]. Considering the urgency of the matter, it is necessary to evaluate the progress so far achieved. How should this evaluation be carried out? This paper addresses this question taking into consideration some insights from the philosophy of science. In particular, it applies the conceptual framework developed by Thomas Kuhn to the study of scientific paradigms. It first reviews the development of SS, demonstrating that Kuhn’s model is followed step by step. The notion of problem-solving power is discussed as the main criterion for an evaluation of scientific paradigms. Next, several elements are presented suggesting that there is a general insufficiency of problem-solving power in SS. Furthermore, additional empirical data are considered early signs of a paradigm crisis. Subsequently, the way forward for SS is discussed. From Kuhn’s perspective, scientific progress is not only achieved by a steady accumulation of knowledge, but also by episodes of crises that precede radical qualitative leaps in which basic premises are modified.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Philosophy of Science, Network Theory and Conceptual Change
    1 Philosophy of Science, Network Theory and Conceptual Change: Paradigm Shifts as Information Cascades Patrick Grim, Joshua Kavner, Lloyd Shatkin, & Manjari Trivedi Forthcoming in Euell Elliot and L. Douglas Kiel, eds., Complex Systems in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: Theory, Method, and Application , Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press Abstract Philosophers have long tried to understand scientific change in terms of a dynamics of revision within ‘theoretical frameworks,’ ‘disciplinary matrices,’ ‘scientific paradigms’ or ‘conceptual schemes.’ No-one, however, has made clear precisely how one might model such a conceptual scheme, nor what form change dynamics within such a structure could be expected to take. In this paper we take some first steps in applying network theory to the issue, modeling conceptual schemes as simple networks and the dynamics of change as cascades on those networks. The results allow a new understanding of two traditional approaches—Popper and Kuhn—as well as introducing the intriguing prospect of viewing scientific change using the metaphor of self- organizing criticality. Introduction The attempt to understand science, its dynamics, and how it changes might call for any of various levels of analysis—and must ultimately include them all. A psychologist might approach the issue with an eye to creativity and conformity. An economist might approach the topic in terms of incentives for research, for innovation or exploitation of existing resources. A sociologist might think of the task as primarily a social study, concentrating on research communities, structures of journal communication, and academic procedures for advancement and funding. Philosophers have typically thought of particular areas of scientific research as characterized by ‘theoretical frameworks,’ disciplinary matrices,’ ‘scientific paradigms,’ or ‘conceptual schemes’ at a particular time, with scientific change to be understood as changes in those conceptual structures.
    [Show full text]
  • Pragmatism in Conducting Research About University-Enterprise Collaboration in the Vietnamese Context Revista Lusófona De Educação, Núm
    Revista Lusófona de Educação ISSN: 1645-7250 [email protected] Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias Portugal Tuyet Tran, Thi Research choice: Pragmatism in conducting research about university-enterprise collaboration in the Vietnamese context Revista Lusófona de Educação, núm. 36, abril-junio, 2017, pp. 67-80 Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias Lisboa, Portugal Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=34952434006 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative Research choice: Pragmatism in conducting research about university- enterprise collaboration in the Vietnamese context Thi Tuyet Tran Abstract: This article discusses the choice of methodology I had when conducting research on the university-enterprise collaboration (UEC) in the Vietnamese context. As I am more interested in how best to address the research problems rather than in the politics of methodology, the discussion in this paper will not focus on the differences between the two dominant approaches to educational research (qualitative and quantitative). Rather, this paper will discuss my way to approach the problems in order to find the best possible answers for the research questions. In this study, pragmatic approach was employed to develop a rich, contextualized understanding of underlying values, beliefs and assumptions that guide actions. This was done by a two phases research study: quantitative surveys focusing primarily on revealing current UEC situation, its obstacles and solutions were used first, then the qualitative interviews were followed to explore in depth why those obstacles existed and how feasible the solutions were - this was also the goal of this study.
    [Show full text]