Colbourne, P: Beyond Paradigms in the Processes of Scientifi

This book is concerned with the process of belief formation and change in one of the most important areas of human endeavour scientific inquiry and the paradigms that underpin that process. It is argued that scientific inquiry is driven by the same need for explanation that gives rise to all forms of human inquiry. It is further argued that the perceptual and intellectual processes that form and guide scientific inquiry are no different from those that drive any other form. Examined in detail are the assumptions, or beliefs, that underlie and give form to our scientific endeavours, both historically and currently, and the fundamental impact those assumptions have on what phenomena we choose to explore, how we explore those phenomena and how we interpret what we find. This work undertakes a major historical and conceptual analysis of the emergence and development of the dominant scientific paradigms in the Western tradition and identifies the genesis of a new and significant metaparadigm.