What Exactly Is A Paradigm?
A great way to get to know me and what my blog is about is to understand why I named my page the great paradigm/s of life. This starts with understanding what a paradigm is.
I think that ‘paradigm’ is one of those words that people understand how to use, but not exactly what it means. This was me not too long ago - in fact, it was not even in my vocabulary and I was originally set on a name revolving around perspectives.
One day at work I had a really meaningful conversation with one of my clients and they mentioned a paradigm. This resonated with me and I instantly knew it was the word I had been searching for. I can now see why.
Paradigm
~ refers to “a system of ideas, or world view, used by a community of researchers to generate knowledge. It is a set of assumptions, research strategies and criteria for rigour that are shared, even taken for granted by that community”. 1
There are a lot of varying definitions for a paradigm, and not so many that made sense to me. The definition listed above is the exact essence of what I understand a paradigm to be. Specifically, when used with the following interpretations:
“Community of researchers”
To me, a community of researchers represents each and every one of us that are inherently seeking to learn something new each day. As a species, we always strive to build things and continue to learn. Therefore, a community of researchers represents the human race.
“Set of assumptions, research strategies and criteria for rigour that are shared”
This phrase symbolises the general concepts and mindsets that are labeled “acceptable” or “normal”. Those are ingrained into children from a young age and reinforced through parenting and societal standards. It is the way we have been taught to think and a symptom of integrating within a community.
“Even taken for granted”
I think of this as taking for granted the general idea of something because it is so widely accepted that we don't bother to explore the possibilities of a new perspective.
If you ask me, it is pretty amazing how much a paradigm can embody life, even just from its written definition. There is truly so much to be interpreted and so much that is left unsaid.
One more interpretation is that a paradigm is simply a given reality that is accepted. The reality of the subject is formed from continuous perspectives of oneself and the awareness of others. This means that in order to improve our own perspectives, we need to learn how to practice understanding, acceptance, and empathy for other people’s perspectives. Their paradigms.
Because of the universal law that everything we give we also receive (cause and effect), we will also be doing this onto ourselves and increasing our self-love, acceptance, etc. By doing this we are increasing our consciousness, which leads to wisdom and enlightenment.
I am so excited to be able to share a few of my paradigms with you so that you can attain new perspectives on life/ways of thinking. Hopefully, this will help you achieve states of inner peace through embodying high-vibrational & loving mindsets.
With Love & Light,
Daphne Lillian xx
REFERENCE: Fossey, E., Harvey, C., McDermott, F., & Davidson, L. (2002). Understanding and evaluating qualitative research. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 36, 717-732.