Paradigm Shift

Once a problem can no longer be solved in the existing paradigm, new laws and theories emerge and form a new paradigm, overthrowing the old if it is accepted. Paradigm shifts are the "occasional, discontinuous, revolutionary changes in tacitly shared points of view and preconceptions."(Daly, 1980, p.1) To abandon one paradigm for another is to alter the entire intellectual basis of a community whether it be scientific, political or otherwise. They represent "a profound change in the thoughts, perceptions, and values that form a particular vision of reality."(Capra, p.30) Capra also adds that paradigm shifts are usually brought about by people who are young or new to a particular discipline since they are relatively free of established preconceptions.

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