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paradigm shift

[ par-uh-dahym shift ]

noun

  1. a dramatic change in the paradigm of a scientific community, or a change from one scientific paradigm to another.
  2. a significant change in the paradigm of any discipline or group:

    Putting skilled, tenured teachers in failing schools would cause a paradigm shift in teaching and education.



paradigm shift

noun

  1. a radical change in underlying beliefs or theory
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of paradigm shift1

First recorded in 1970–75
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Word History and Origins

Origin of paradigm shift1

C20: coined by T.S. Kuhn (1922–96), US philosopher of science
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Example Sentences

The paradigm shift is opening up real advertising innovation.

From Digiday

The essential paradigm shift in the last few decades has been that cancer really isn’t a small number of entities.

Avoiding this nightmare scenario will require a paradigm shift.

To say “it’s hard for medicine to take on a paradigm shift” — that is an understatement.

It’s the culmination of individual actions that may ultimately lead to a major paradigm shift.

From Quartz

But we offer something else in a return, a paradigm shift that comes from people who have been awakened.

Herein lies the paradigm shift to a just and sustainable peace and an integration of Israel into the region.

Companies are beginning to take this paradigm shift to heart.

The time for paradigm shift is here, and the rogue general can be its sponsor.

In India, the debate between capitalist globalization and self-reliance required a huge paradigm shift.

This perspective was an essential paradigm shift for nursing knowledge, but essential for study of the caring phenomena.

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More About Paradigm Shift

What is a paradigm shift?

A paradigm shift is change, or shift, in the way a commonly shared framework or set of understandings (paradigm) is changed or exchanged for another, typically in response to new observations or understandings of reality.

More specifically, a paradigm shift is a change in a methodology or framework in a scientific community.

This concept is credited to Thomas Kuhn, a science philosopher, who detailed the idea and its implications in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1962. In the text, he gives as an example of a paradigm shift as the change from the idea that the Earth is at the center of the solar system to the idea that the sun is at the center. When a paradigm shift occurs, we have to arrange or adopt a new model of understanding.

Example: The rapid growth of the internet prompted a paradigm shift in how political campaigns did outreach and messaged to voters.

Where does paradigm shift come from?

The first records of the term paradigm shift come from around the 1960s. Coined by US philosopher Thomas Kuhn in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), a paradigm shift is “a dramatic change (shift) in the framework (paradigm) of a scientific community.”

Did you know … ?

What are some words that share a root or word element with paradigm shift?

What are some words that often get used in discussing paradigm shift?

How is paradigm shift used in real life?

Paradigm shift is used to describe drastic changes in a new methodology, approach, or framework, especially in the sciences.

 

Try using paradigm shift!

True or False?

A paradigm shift is a permanent framework, never to be changed.

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