Research 701 ~ Paradigms

Postmodernism is a word that I have heard people like Jordan Peterson use but is not a word that I never investigated. It just so happens that postmodernism is one of the paradigms that we talked about in class. The other paradigms are classical and social. One of the take homes is to choose one of the paradigms, describe it, explain what it can be used for, and why I like/dislike the paradigm. Before I can choose one I need to explore the three in a little more detail in order to make a more informal choice.

Before we jump into defining the specific paradigms, lets come to a neutral understanding of scientific paradigms. Both the oxford dictionary, and the merriam-webster dictionary state that a paradigm is “an example or pattern”. [source 1] [source 2] Now that we have a neutral understanding of a paradigm lets go a bit deeper and come to a neutral understanding of a scientific paradigm. The term gained more meaning when a person by the name of Thomas Kuhn, in his book the structure of scientific revolutions. He defines a scientific paradigm as a “universally recognized scientific achievements that, for a time, provide model problems and solutions for a community of practitioners” [source]

Now that we have a somewhat neutral understanding of the meanings behind both paradigm and scientific paradigm, lets break down the three paradigms; classical, postmodernism and social. Lets start with classical paradigms. It is hard to find a clear definition as to what a classical paradigm is, since its more around what paradigm one is refering to. In this case lets use classical physics. Classical physics refer to the pre-modern theories around physics, that is to say if a current theory is accepted and considered “modern”, then previous/new theories around the old paradigm(s) will be referred to as classical.

Postmodernism is as the name suggests, a paradigm shift from modernism. According to the oxford dictionary, postmodernism is “A late 20th-century style and concept in the arts, architecture, and criticism, which represents a departure from modernism and is characterized by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions, a mixing of different artistic styles and media, and a general distrust of theories.” [source] I am not going to delve into modernism in this blog, as it would make this blog longer than it is already. In a wrapped up package, and in my opinion, postmodernism is the reflection and exploration of modern theories.

Social paradigms are “analytical frameworks, or paradigms, that are used to study and interpret social phenomena.” [source] Marxism is one example that explores social conflict among other things. Marxism isn’t the first to explore these kinds of paradigms though, in fact there was a book back in the 14th century called Muqaddimah that explored social cohesion and social conflict. Social paradigms go back even further to the time of Confucius and Saint Augustine.

Choosing a Paradigm

Now that we have developed a basic understanding of the three paradigms, it’s time to choose one to explore further. Though it’s rather hard to choose one in particular, since all can cross over into the realm of others in some form or another, I am rather interested in social paradigms. Social paradigms as described above are theories around social phenomena. Social paradigms can be used to explore social problems or structures on a micro, meso, and macro level. One example of a macro level social paradigm is the current trend around social medias. In my personal opinion this is a massive social conflict, where individuals are going to extreme lengths in order to gain favor with others on social platforms. I like this paradigm as it reviews and reflects upon the various aspects of society.