A paradigm shift is when a significant change happens – usually from one fundamental view to a different view. In most cases, some type of major discontinuity occurs as well.
Thomas Kuhn wrote about paradigm shift during the early 1960s, and explained how “series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions” caused “one conceptual world view to be replaced by another view.”
In laymen terms, paradigm shift is a popular, or perhaps, not so popular shift or transformation of the way we Humans perceive events, people, environment, and life altogether. It can be a national or international shift, and could have dramatic effects — whether positive or negative — on the way we live our lives today and in the future.
Paradigm Shift: A Summary
In today’s society, we’ve all witnessed a major shift already. When we look back upon counterculture (More information here: Counterculture), we trace some of the origins to the definition of “Paradigm Shift.”
During the counterculture era (1960s-1970s), younger generations opposed authority and were very much at odds with society’s accepted belief systems and standards of living. In the counterculture movement (fueled by the Vietnam War), social conservatives were deemed “social repressionists.”
The enlightening paradigm shift exploded into innovative ideas about religion, society and spirituality, notwithstanding traditional Western ideologies.
In today’s society, we see a shift toward a more blinded-oppresionistic view; breed by censorship. The ironic juxtapositions between the paradigm shift of nearly half a century ago and society’s youth today are chillingly revelational.
Youth’s opposition to authority may not have always been in the best interest of humanity; however, it was the paradigm shift that led to revolutionary changes that improved racial tensions and relationships, opened communication lines to outside nations, and ended the Vietnam War.
The end result included varying degrees of negative and positive transformations that allowed people to open their hearts and minds to multicultural diversity; and promoted liberty and freedom — on the flip side of the shift, there was increased promiscuity, higher divorce rates, higher drug use, and imposed socialistic views and applications of welfare systems.
Today’s Paradigm Shift
In lieu of recent times; however, a paradigm shift has been evolving. Have you been paying attention? Youth — today, is seemingly under the hypnotic spell of invisible censorship. What is “invisible censorship?” Local news stations often report half-truths, or biased news reports in relation to national and international events; including: environmental, global, and political reports. Many traditional educational systems are imposing personal political views upon students; and incorporate these beliefs and attitudes into instructional plans. Other invisible censorship is the fact that many events are brushed under the rug and are not given adequate media coverage as opposed to propaganda-style news.
So, in essence, what does this paradigm shift translate to with regard to human life and environmental habits? What could be the possible outcome of such dynamic and interventional metamorphosis?
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Paradigm Shift: A Summary
By CarolAnn Bailey-Lloyd
Note: Above article had been published in 2005 by various websites.