Terminology Tuesday: Paradigm

Paradigm: comes from the Greek paradeigma: evidence, example, pattern, model, archetype. In linguistics, a paradigm provides an example of a conjugation or a declension. In philosophy, its meanings include an archetype, a standard of measurement, a typical case or suggestive example, and a dominating scientific orientation. The term paradigm is frequently used in the social sciences. In popular understanding, paradigm often simply means a collection of ideas, a cluster of theories, models or actions representing a guiding idea, or a conceptual framework. (read more...) 1

1. Antje Jackelén, Encyclopedia of Science and Religion.