Word
Paradigm
A shared model or framework that guides which questions people ask and what counts as a good answer
Examples
The laboratory's paradigm shaped which measurements researchers treated as important.
Changing one estimate within a theory does not necessarily replace the paradigm.
Origin
The word long meant an example or pattern. Thomas Kuhn gave it a specialized role in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, published in 1962. His uses included shared scientific achievements and exemplary solutions through which researchers learn how to approach further problems.
How it connects
Paradigm names the shared model that gives a field a way to work.
This word appeared in The framework inside the question, the Involves connection for September 24, 2026, which asked: How can a field agree on methods while disagreeing about results?
Check yourself
Which change most plausibly concerns a paradigm?
A field revises its shared assumptions about what counts as an explanation. Exactly. A paradigm organizes inquiry, rather than naming every local alteration.
What the sources establish
Kuhn's 1962 book gave paradigm a specialized role involving shared commitments and exemplars.
Sources
Thomas Kuhn (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy), Sections on normal science, paradigms, and later clarification
Kuhn, Thomas S. (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy), Structure publication history and responses to criticism