Paradigms

Related Categories	Mental Models
Related People	Ellen J. Langer, Thomas S. Kuhn
Wikipedia	Paradigms
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Paradigms include theories, principles, values, beliefs, and doctrines. They can be thought of as a rigid tacit infrastructure of ideas that shape not only our thinking but also our perception of the world. When someone says "we need a new paradigm for this." It is a misuse of the word. All they are saying is "we need a new approach or we need a new way of looking at things". By the very definition of the word - our personal and organisational paradigms are not known to us.

Paradigms are both good and bad. In one sense they are the mind's immune system against new, possibly dangerous ideas. On the other hand if they prevent the take up of any new idea they are potentially more dangerous. The problem is - we do something - we make a decision - we react in a particular way - quite naturally for a subconscious reason. A reason with which our conscious mind would not agree. However, our conscious mind rationalises our action. And we move on totally unaware - at best dimly aware - that we have done something for the wrong reason. Some of us may recognise that we do this in our personal lives - in our emotional lives - in our relationships with our loved ones. But we do it too in our business lives. So paradigms block our creativity - they limit our thoughts and our actions in a way in which we are not aware.

Blog Post

  Thinking in public
Posted to Gurteen Knowledge-Log by David Gurteen on 17 July 2002

  Changing our lenses!
Gurteen Knowledge-Log, David Gurteen, 22 August 2006

Book

  Changing Paradigms (1998) by Thomas Clarke , Stewart Clegg 
The Transformation of Management Knowledge for the 21st Century

  The Power of Mindful Learning (1997) by Ellen J. Langer

  The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) by Thomas S. Kuhn

Category

  Paradigms [19 items]

Person

  Ellen J. Langer Professor of Psychology at Harvard

  Thomas S. Kuhn (1922 - 1995) Scientist

Quotation

  On convictions and flies by Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970) British philosopher, logician & essayist

  On knowledge by Edward De Bono (b. 1933) Psychologist & Author

  On life being difficult by M. Scott Peck Psychiatrist & author

  On people, stimuli and sensations by Thomas S. Kuhn (1922 - 1995) Scientist

  On perspective by Ellen J. Langer Professor of Psychology at Harvard

  On prejudice by Peter Senge MIT-based author, researcher & educator

  On single-minded views by Ellen J. Langer Professor of Psychology at Harvard

  On the eyes and the mind by Pete Cohen 

  On the inside-out approach by Stephen Covey (1932 - 2012) Author & Consultant