Concepts · Science Studies
Paradigm
Source-checked draft · v0.3 · 2026-09-24
Prepared with AI assistance; no scholarly reviewer assigned.
In Kuhn’s account, paradigms are exemplary achievements guiding research; the term also has a broader use for a community’s shared commitments.
Source: Bird, Alexander · §3, “The Concept of a Paradigm”
Bird, Alexander. “Thomas Kuhn.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (revised 2025).
Supporting passage (paraphrased): Distinguishes the disciplinary matrix from paradigms as exemplary problem solutions.
Source paraphrase
The core idea
Bird’s account of Kuhn explains how accepted problem solutions provide models for further research. A scientific community learns ways of identifying and solving problems through those exemplars.
Source: Bird, Alexander · §3, “The Concept of a Paradigm”
Bird, Alexander. “Thomas Kuhn.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (revised 2025).
Supporting passage (paraphrased): Distinguishes the disciplinary matrix from paradigms as exemplary problem solutions.
Source paraphrase
Two uses of the term
The disciplinary matrix includes theories, instruments, values, and assumptions. Paradigms in the narrower sense are exemplary research achievements within that matrix; these meanings should not be collapsed.
Source: Bird, Alexander · §3, “The Concept of a Paradigm”
Bird, Alexander. “Thomas Kuhn.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (revised 2025).
Supporting passage (paraphrased): Distinguishes the disciplinary matrix from paradigms as exemplary problem solutions.
Source paraphrase
Interpretation and disagreement
Bird describes disputes about incommensurability and scientific rationality. Kuhn’s account of comparison between frameworks does not simply say that evidence is irrelevant.
Source: Bird, Alexander · §§4 and 7.2, incommensurability
Bird, Alexander. “Thomas Kuhn.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (revised 2025).
Supporting passage (paraphrased): Discusses different meanings of incommensurability and objections about rational comparison.
Editorial guidance
Editorial perspective
This entry presents Kuhn through a scholarly reference account. It is an introduction to a contested position, not a consensus model of every scientific field.
Source paraphrase
Example: weighing in chemistry
Bird gives Lavoisier’s use of a chemical balance—a weighing instrument—as an example. What makes this a paradigm is not the instrument alone, but its use in solving a scientific problem. Other researchers can take that successful solution as a model: it suggests what to measure and how to investigate similar problems. Here, an “exemplar” means a model of successful scientific work.
Source: Bird, Alexander · §3, examples of paradigms and the three functions of exemplars
Bird, Alexander. “Thomas Kuhn.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (revised 2025).
Supporting passage (paraphrased): Bird identifies Lavoisier’s application of the balance and explains that exemplars suggest new problems, approaches to solving them, and standards for assessing solutions.
Start reading
Bird, Alexander. “Thomas Kuhn.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (revised 2025).§3, then §7
The concept section distinguishes meanings; the later section introduces objections and influence.
Edition & revision record
- v0.3 · 2026-09-24: Replaced the abstract invented teaching scenario with a cited chemistry example and explained the term exemplar.
- v0.2 · 2026-09-24: Added claim citations, source locations, reading levels, and explicit editorial labels; removed exercises.
Suggested citation: “paradigm,” STS Knowledge Guide, AI-assisted draft, v0.3, 2026-09-24.
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