Volume 4, Issue 1, Summer 2014
Infinity Journal
Page 26
Despite the sheer number of books published these days,
the publication of a single book that changes the way
a society confronts an issue or thinks about an entire
topic remains a very rare occurrence. One such rarity was
Thomas S. Kuhn’s 1962 book
The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions
. As Ian Hacking observed in his introduction to
the fourth edition, “Thomas Kuhn was out to change our
understanding of the sciences—that is, of the activities that
have enabled our species, for better or worse, to dominate
the planet. He succeeded”.[i] Perhaps the most pervasive
of the several influences that
Structure
has had is the way
in which it re-defined the common understanding of the
word “paradigm”. Prior to
Structure
, “paradigm” was used
mainly in relation to grammar, where it described the base
(or root word) of a set of forms that contained variations of
this root. Today, the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “a
typical example or pattern of something; a pattern or model;
a world view underlying the theories and methodology of a
particular scientific subject”.[ii] It is due to Structure that this
contemporary definition exists.
Perhaps the most pervasive of the
several influences that
Structure
has
had is the way in which it re-defined
the common understanding of the
word “paradigm”.
Given the nature of this post-
Structure
definition, it is
unsurprising that the word “paradigm” has become
commonplace. In Hacking’s words: “Nowadays,
paradigm
,
along with its companion
paradigm shift
, is embarrassingly
everywhere. When Kuhn wrote, few people had ever
encountered it. Soon, it became trendy…Today, it is pretty
hard to escape the damn word”.[iii] Unsurprisingly, therefore,
use of the word “paradigm” has become commonplace
in discussion of strategy. However, those employing it have
seldom defined or elaborated upon it. This omission is more
significant that it may at first appear.At risk of oversimplifying
for the sake of making a point, because a paradigm (as
the word is understood today) establishes the common
framework for understanding a problem and for developing
solutions to it, the employment by a strategist of one
particular paradigm instead of another can ultimately mean
the difference between victory and defeat.
Given the nature of this post-
Structure
definition, it is unsurprising
that the word “paradigm” has
become commonplace.
It was encouraging, therefore, to see Justin Kelly’s article “On
Paradigms”, which elaborated on the subject, featured in an
earlier edition of this journal.[iv] On closer scrutiny, however,
it is apparent that Kelly’s article conflates “paradigm” with
“theory”, an unfortunate result being that its discussion
becomes muddled and in the process it misses several of the
nuances of a“paradigm”as Kuhn construed it.This conflation
is understandable: as Margaret Masterman later highlighted,
Kuhn uses the word “paradigm” in no less than 21 different
ways within
Structure
.[v] Kuhn himself, in a postscript first
included in the second edition, asserted that “the paradigm
as shared example is the central element of what I now take
to be the most novel and least understood aspect of this
book”.[vi] This author, too, has previously attempted to tackle
Kuhn’s concept of paradigm in the military context, albeit
through a discussion of limited scope.[vii]
Together, Kelly’s article along with my own prior research,
have convinced me that Kuhn’s definition of a “paradigm”
and its applicability to strategy needs to be further explored.
This article conducts that exploration, providing an overview
Aaron P. Jackson
Australian Defence Force
Joint Doctrine Centre
Dr Aaron P. Jackson is a Doctrine Desk Officer at the
Australian Defence Force Joint Doctrine Centre. In this
appointment he contributes to the development of
Australian Defence Force joint doctrine publications in
the executive, operations, planning and training series. He
is also an active member of the Australian Army Reserve
who has operational service in Timor Leste and he has
authored several academic papers on a variety of topics
related to strategy, warfare and military affairs.
To cite this Article:
Jackson,Aaron P.,“Paradigms Reconsidered,”
Infinity Journal
,Volume 4, Issue 1, summer 2014, pages 26-31.
Paradigms Reconsidered
