Paradigm

Cardinal idea or principle that structures a set of beliefs, values. And mental systems shared by the members of a given community. Valid at a specific time, a paradigm is a guide to interpreting the present world. It is a model, of an artificial construction, which almost always represents the dominant view. A paradigm is a basic concept in a field; it is an assumption or premise which is often fundamental to a field. In his 1962 book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn describes progress as a process that involves a series of revised paradigms which give a kind of granularity to progress as paradigms replace one another. When a current paradigm is supplanted by a new paradigm, the field is often thrown into turmoil until the new paradigm becomes part of the dogma. One of Kuhn's examples was the paradigm shift from the Ptolemaic earth-centered picture of the solar system to the Copernican.