Paradigms

1116 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Thomas Kuhn's thesis on the scientific revolution

Paradigms

What do you do when the hypothetical becomes reality? What if something not just unthinkable, but unimaginable, is suddenly proposed to you as a truth. Now, what if this new truth shatters your entire view of the world, of the universe, and of man’s place in all of that. This is a drastic example of a paradigm shift, when people are torn between two different beliefs. Galileo Galilei brought on the paradigm shift that yielded this extreme example when he offered proof of a heliocentric universe in his 1610 publishing Sidereus Nuncius. Thomas S. Kuhn discussed paradigm shifts like this in his 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. While it is never an easy transition, once the new paradigm gains acceptance it will offer brilliant new ideas and explorations.

It’s not possible to give a modern parallel to Galileo’s early 1600 publishing Sidereus Nuncius. So we must attempt to consider this in the context of the 1600s. Many things that we take for granted today, things that we know from our days in elementary school and never bother to question, were not even conceived yet. There was no gravitation theory; everything naturally moved towards the center. The heliocentric Copernican model had not yet been accepted; everything naturally rotated around the earth. That put earth, and more importantly humans, at the center of the universe. Everything literally revolved around us, and that was how God the Almighty designed it. In order to change from this view, a new one must be proposed, proven, and finally accepted. As Kuhn writes, “The decision to reject one paradigm is always simultaneously the decision to accept another, and the judgment leading to that decision involves the comparison of bot...

... middle of paper ...

...uble sin.

I am alone against thirty thousand. No. Protect you, the court; protect, you, deception; let me protect the truth. It is all my strength. If I lose it, I am undone. I shall not lack accusations, and persecutions. But I possess the truth, and we shall see who will take it away” (Pascal #921).

Works Cited

Galilei, Galileo. Sidereus Nuncius or The Sidereal Messenger. Trans. by Albert

Van Helden. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1989.

Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Third Edition. Chicago:

The University of Chicago Press, 1996.

Pascal, Blaise. “Pensees.” Online. Internet. 07 Sept. 2000.

http://altair.stmarys-ca.edu/studwork/integral/penseesi.txt.

“Philosophy of Science & Information Technology: A Tribute to Thomas Kuhn”

Online. Internet. 07 Sept. 2000. http://www.brint.com/kuhn.htm.

Show More
Related

  • Commentary of Orson Scott Card´s Novel: Ender's Game

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ender is selected to go to Battle School in space because of the actions he has displayed against a bully after a device known as a monitor, which allows the leaders of the I.F. to watch and hear everything Ender perceives. Although Ender’s conception was predetermined (in this time period, families are only allowed to have two children unless stated by the government which is why Ender is often called a “Third”), he had to display the correct characteristics to be selected. Ender’s siblings, Peter and Valentine also wore the monitor, but neither wore it as long nor was selected because Peter was too cruel and Valentine was too mild. Once Ender arrives, he makes a couple new friends from the other selected children, including a boy named Alai. When Ender is alone, he plays a mind game and progresses farther than anyone has before so out of the blue, Ender becomes promoted to a group called Salamander Army, where he befriends the only girl, Petra Arkanian, at Battle School. As Ender continues to display his brilliance, he is continuously being promot...

    Read More

  • Galileo's Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina, 1695

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1695 Galileo wrote a Letter to The Grand Duchess Christina. This letter discussed the relationship between the traditional biblical beliefs of the time (the basis on which their society was built), scientific discoveries, and their correlation with one another. The purpose of the letter was to inform that the scientific discoveries being made were not hearsay or contradictory to the Bible, rather they were natural laws, which could coincide with Scriptural based beliefs, not oppose them. In the Letter to The Grand Duchess Christina, Galileo implies that science is the means by which G-d meant for humanity to understand scriptural truths. This belief can be applied to the present day by finding equilibrium, and in turn allowing for a balanced life.

    Read More

  • Enders Game Essay

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, when Ender is put in tight scenarios where he has very few options to choose from, it results with his emotions being expressed in a violent form. As a result, Ender’s mental state is affected by the violent actions taken upon Ender by showing the effect it has on the mind and how it effects one another. The effects upon Ender’s physical state results with him choosing to use violent acts in order to avoid the harm that is brought upon physical combat. Life is always based on decisions and many of these decisions are based on basic emotions like happiness, sadness, etc,however many of them result with others as well.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Galileo's Letter

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first argument Galileo made was that while the Bible could never be wrong, the implications of its words could be misunderstood. He maintained that the Holy Scriptures are “often very abstruse” and that interpreting them verbatim could cause one to “fall into error”. Galileo supported this claim by stating that all theologians seemed to agree with this notion. Moreover, he argued that if his belief were not true, then the interpreters of the Bible should have never disagree...

    Read More

  • The Four Paradigms: The Four Paradigms

    173 Words  | 1 Pages

    I did not find myself strongly sided with any of the four paradigms. I felt that findings from any of the paradigms could provide beneficial information in different areas of education research. Constructivist researchers focus on understanding the people and the world they are studying; transformative researchers focus their work on people facing social oppression; while pragmatic researchers use both quantitative and qualitative methods to research the questions they want answered.

    Read More

  • Poliical Parties in America

    1555 Words  | 4 Pages

    One reason political parties have a positive effect on American politics is that they unite and organize Americans that share similar viewpoints on a variety of political issues. Political parties allow Americans to select a party that demonstrates their personal values/beliefs and articulates their views on ways to overcome the issues facing America. Murray S. Stedman, J...

    Read More

  • Enders Game

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... he commanded his own platoon. Those are phases Ender went through. During one battle he faced, he cheated. Page 218 describes Ender’s men passed through the gate without soldiers before the gate was reversed. He had to cheat because he was exhausted and he needed assistance. Ender was battling two teams at once, never done before at battle school.. Finally every game has a final stage or battle. In Ender’s Game the final battle was against the buggers. Ender fights them on page 297. Ender was actually tricked into fighting them. This point proves how life is a game because games have a final battle/stage and Ender fought in one. Ender as a game piece, cheating and fighting in a final stage/battle prove how life is a game.

    Read More

  • Heroes

    835 Words  | 2 Pages

    The development of a hero persona and the ability to combat enemies is shaped by encounters with personal hardships, within a fabricated and manipulative environment. Throughout Enders Game the pre-adolescent protagonist, Ender, has his nature and mentality warped by manipulative adults in order to make him into what they perceive, the most effective ‘saviour’ of the human race, only to result in Ender finding an equally as evil force within the battle school. The repeated dialogue at the opening of most chapters, between two unknown officers discussing the necessity of Ender’s submersion in “isolation” (1) and “enemies” (2) is an indication of intentional manipulation and exposure to a set of engineered human problems, in an attempt to turn Ender into the hero they want him to be. Card has further accentuated this idea by imbuing these discussions with ambiguity. No setting is described, neither is the identity of the two men revealed; granting them a sense of enigmatic authority. The alienation and isolation that ...

    Read More

  • The Scientific Revolution and The Enlightenment

    1738 Words  | 4 Pages

    Galileo Galilei was an Italian philosopher born in 1564. As an adult, he didn’t believe the universal geocentric theory of the planets and heavens which was established by the Catholic Church. The church taught that the Earth was the center of the universe and everything revolved around our planet. Another theory that the Church supported was that the Earth stood still while the sun rose and set every day. Society in the 1500’s believed that the Pope spoke for God through a divine connection and to against the church was to go against God. To speak out against the church in this time was strictly taboo. If one was to speak against the church was considered to be heresy, which is exactly what happened to Galileo. Galileo invented the telescope and began studying the heavens above and noticed that changes within the stars and planets. He noticed that the “stars” that surrounded Jupiter moved. He came to the conclusion through rational thinking, that the Copernicus’ heliocentric theory was correct. Copernicus was a scientist and philosopher whose theory proposed that the sun was stationary and the heavens orbit around the sun. Galileo tried to convince the church not to aboli...

    Read More

  • Analysis of "The Thematic Paradigm"

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the article “The Thematic Paradigm” exerted from his book, A Certain Tendency of the Hollywood Cinema, Robert Ray provides a description of the two types of heroes depicted in American film: the outlaw hero and the official hero. Although the outlaw hero is more risky and lonely, he cherishes liberty and sovereignty. The official hero on the other hand, generally poses the role of an average ordinary person, claiming an image of a “civilized person.” While the outlaw hero creates an image of a rough-cut person likely to commit a crime, the official hero has a legend perception. In this essay, I will reflect on Ray’s work, along with demonstrating where I observe ideologies and themes.

    Read More

  • Isolation in Ender's Game

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    One key component that is produced through Ender’s struggles at his young age is self-reliance. Ender is born unto a family where he is seen as an outcast; he’s a “third.” In a world where population control is major concern, a third-born child is looked upon in disgust. He is isolated even before he is brought into the world. John Kessel reveals his insights into Card’s interpretation of Ender’s exploitation when he says,” Orson Scott Card presents a harrowing tale of abuse. Ender’s parents and older brother (. . .) either ignore the abuse of Ender or participate in it” (Kessel 1). No one contributes more to this abuse than his older brother, Peter. Along with his birth, jealousy and hatred are especially common towards Ender. This disapproving outlook is particularly apparent from Peter. Peter let’s Ender know hi...

    Read More

  • Magnetic Susceptibility Essay

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    The magnetic susceptibility χ (=M/H) (FC and ZFC) as a function of temperature measured at low applied field (H=50 Oe) is presented in Fig.5. The molar susceptibility shows a monotonic increase upon cooling down to ~ 22 K, where a steeper increase is observed. Below this temperature a bifurcation between the ZFC and the FC curves is evident (see inset of Fig.5. On the other and above 22 K the reciprocal magnetic susceptibility (1/χ) as a function of temperature shows a linear trend (Fig. 5 right scale). In detail, above ca. 30 K, in the paramagnetic region, the Curie-Weiss law is strictly followed. By fitting the linear part of the 1/χ curve with 1/χ = (T-p)/C, in the 30-310 K temperature range, a Curie-Weiss temperature, p = -2.3 K, and the Curie constant, C = 1.30 cm3.K.mol-1, (µeff = 3.2 µB) were obtained. The small negative Curie-Weiss temperature indicates the presence weak antiferromagnetic exchangeinteraction between the Ni magnetic centres. Indeed, the χT curve (Fig. 6 left scale) shows a downward curvature, typical of systems with antiferromagnetic correlations and/or non-negligible spin-orbit coupling. The χT=1.31 cm3.K.mol-1 at 310 K undergoes a small and gradual decrease to 1.19 emu.K.mol-1 at 24.5 K. The Curie constant value, either obtained by1/χ linear fit or the χT product for T>>p is in reasonable agreement with the expected spin-only theoretical value for NiII in octahedral environment with S=1 spin state (C = 1 cm3.K.mol-1and µeff = 2.83 µB considering g = 2) for unquenched orbital moment C = 3.91 cm3.K.mol-1and µeff = 5.59 µB).

    Read More

  • Magnetic Field Essay

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    Temperature has a large effect on particles. Heat makes particles energized causing them to spread out and bounce around. Inversely the cold causes particles to clump together and become denser. These changes greatly F magnetic the state of substances and can also influence the strength of magnetic fields. This is because it can alter the flow of electrons through the magnet.

    Read More

  • The Magnetic Fields Of The Magnet

    1704 Words  | 4 Pages

    Magnets have had a slow and humble start but quickly took off, the discovery of their ability to be affected and effect electrical currents around them. They have been attempted to be used in conventional and nonconventional ways alike from converting energy to relieving pain. We’ve learned that because they are unable to generate their own power we cannot use them as a power source but we can in fact use them for power conversions. I believe further studies in field of magnets will reveal further applications of magnets in the future and quite possibly the application of magnets as a power source.

    Read More

  • Cause And Effect On Climate Change

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nature is something that no one can be 100 percent sure about and changes in any period of time. The earth’s temperature is dependent on the balance of the energy entering and leaving the planet. According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), change in the planets orbit can lead to an increase on the climate on the planet. Nature also has an effect on climate change with external events, events that are not on the climate system. Volcanic eruptions and change in solar radiation are two of the external events that cause climate to change on earth. Although these two events cause the climate to change, they only have a short term effect (Canada). Islands and dry place are more common to have an increase in temperature because of the amount of energy that is generated and released back to the atmosphere. As the ozone is breaking down, the amount of solar energy being generated and released to the atmosphere is greater than before, which produces an increase on the world’s climate. Movement of crustal plates is also something that changes the climate on earth. The Northern Hemisphere usually gets warmer than the Southern Hemisphere due to the amount of land mass the Northern Hemisphere has. Around every eleven years, according to CSI, the amount of dark sunspots on the sun decrease from the maximum amount of sunspots to the minimum amount. Scientist call

    Read More

More about Paradigms

Open Document