Category of “paradigm” in social sciences from authentic Kuhn to modern treatments

https://doi.org/10.20339/AM.01-17.016

E.I. Kravchenko is Dr.Sci. (Sociology), prof. at Moscow State Linguistic University

e-mail: elena.mslu@mail.ru

Presented is analysis of origin, formation and modern usage by scholars of the term of “paradigm”. Initial point of the research comes from T. Kuhn’s idea, that in the base of paradigm lies the worldview or fundamental cognitive orientation of the analyst, and the paradigm as such cannot be reduced to pure instrumental means for classification of social theories. However, nowadays both Western and national sociologists frequently use that term in this latter sense. According to the author, one of the reason is that fundamental theory is marginalized as compared to applied fast-profit research. Consequently, sociologists inevitably come to necessity of justifying explanatory substantiation with their empirical models by necessarily creation numerous neologisms prefixed with “meta” (meta-paradigm, meta-theory, etc.).

Key words: theory of cognition, ontology, sociology, worldview, gestalt, multiple paradigm science, paradigm revolution, codificator of explanatory models, meta-categories.

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