Paradigm Shift
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-28
CORE DEFINITION
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. Even though Kuhn restricted the use of the term to the natural sciences, the concept of a paradigm shift has also been used in many other fields.
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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.
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A paradigm shift refers to the process where an individual or a field, upon encountering problems that are unsolvable within the old paradigm, actively jumps to another paradigm to reframe the problem. Its mechanism is a wholesale replacement rather than patching: when the problem is rooted in the assumptions of the old framework, patching is futile; a change of track is necessary.
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm_shiftverified
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