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In science and philosophy, a paradigm (/ ˈ p ær ə d aɪ m / PARR-ə-dyme) is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitute legitimate contributions to a field. The word paradigm is Greek in origin, meaning "pattern".
A paradigm shift is a fundamental change in the basic concepts and experimental practices of a scientific discipline.It is a concept in the philosophy of science that was introduced and brought into the common lexicon by the American physicist and philosopher Thomas Kuhn.
In the behavioural sciences (e.g. psychology, biology, neurosciences), an experimental paradigm, is an experimental setup or way of conducting a certain type of experiment (a protocol) that is defined by certain fine-tuned standards, and often has a theoretical background. A paradigm in this technical sense, however, is not a way of thinking as ...
The paradigm shift does not merely involve the revision or transformation of an individual theory, it changes the way terminology is defined, how the scientists in that field view their subject, and, perhaps most significantly, what questions are regarded as valid, and what rules are used to determine the truth of a particular theory.
Theoretical advances may consist in setting aside old, incorrect paradigms (e.g., aether theory of light propagation, caloric theory of heat, burning consisting of evolving phlogiston, or astronomical bodies revolving around the Earth) or may be an alternative model that provides answers that are more accurate or that can be more widely applied.
Thomas Kuhn structured scientific research trends as the progression of paradigms and paradigm shifts. [11] An example of a paradigm would be the geocentric model of the universe ; an example of a paradigm shift would when the heliocentric model began taking over due to irrefutable evidence (largely from Galileo Galilei , Johannes Kepler , and ...
Today, the theory rests on advanced topics in linear algebra, algebra and combinatorics. As with other branches of statistics, experimental design is pursued using both frequentist and Bayesian approaches: In evaluating statistical procedures like experimental designs, frequentist statistics studies the sampling distribution while Bayesian ...
A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment. Such fact-supported theories are not "guesses" but reliable accounts of the real world. The theory of biological evolution is more than "just a theory".