scientific paradigms

• paradigms

  a set of definitions of a given science; a framework of assumptions, principles and methods

  • kuhn - paradigms are essentially a set of norms or a kind of culture that scientists come to accept through socialisation
  • a science can't exist without a shared paradigm, and without one there is purely rival schools of thought
• normal science

  kuhn - normal science involves problem-solving where paradigms provide the questions and a broad sense of the asnwers and scientists fill in the gaps

  • this is an advantage as scientists agree on the basics so are able to get on with the productive aspects of science
  • watkins - this contrasts with popper's view that falsification is what makes science unique
• scientific revolutions

  not all puzzle-solving is successful and scientists find anomalies that contradict with their paradigms, which means they lose confidence in that paradigm

  • this places science in crisis as it loses its previously taken-for-granted foundations and causes arguments and efforts to reformulate the paradigm
  • rival paradigms are created which kuhn suggests can't be compared to one another, so neither will accept criticism or accept that they are wrong
• post-scientific revolution

  eventually a new paradigm wins out over the others and is accepted by the scientific community, so the practice can resume with a different set of norms

  • kuhn - this is an irrational process similar to religious conversion and generally gains support from younger scientists first because they have less to lose from the change
  • contrasts with popper's view that the scientific community is open and rational
• implications for sociology

  sociology is currently pre-paradigmatic and so pre-scientific as there is no common perspective or methodology, and can only become one if these disagreements are concluded

  • there are doubts about whether this is even possible as even political differences prevent this, which will continue to exist
  • there are even disagreements within different perspectives eg. liberal v radical feminism
  • postmodernists suggest paradigms aren't desirable in sociology because they resemble meta-narratives