Discussion 14.1 Paradigms and Principles TOP
A philosophy, which is sometimes called an understanding of the law, is simply a way that a person holds the laws in . . .
mind in order to guess quickly at consequences.
—Richard Feynman
One of the main uses of analogy in science occurs when a theoretical structure is abstracted from one science and employed in
another in an analogical way. The idea of evolution, for example, has been borrowed from biology by almost every science, and
the idea of force has similarly been borrowed from physics.
In this section, we present thumbnail sketches of five different paradigmatic ideas that are useful in doing science. We also
discuss a number of principles, drawn from various sciences, as examples of the way in which principles are used in science.
Paradigms
Force: The concept of force seems to have originated in pre­logical times with the concept of will. In primitive thinking, all
change is assumed to occur as the result of a conscious will on the part of some entity. It has been argued that this view is the
germ of the idea that change is explainable by the idea of “forces” in nature. The germ developed into the idea, finally
formalized by Newton, that deviations from our ideals of natural order are to be explained in terms of the actions of natural
forces. In Newtonian mechanics, this relationship is expressed in the force law, F=ma , where m is the mass of an object and a
is its acceleration—the measure of deviation from the “natural” straight­line motion.
In physics, the force idea was quickly generalized with the introduction of thermodynamic forces, used to explain deviations
from the ideal of thermal equilibrium, and electric and magnetic forces, which explain the motion of charged and magnetized
objects. In chemistry, the idea of chemical forces was introduced to explain deviations from chemical equilibrium.
Today, the concept of force is found in almost every science. We speak routinely of economic, psychological and social forces.
It is important to bear in mind, however, that the definition of force is in terms of deviations from an ideal of natural order.
Thus, if we are going to use the idea of a force in other than a metaphorical sense, we must also have such an ideal in mind. We
cannot talk reasonably about sources of deviations from an ideal if we do not know what that ideal is. This fact is especially
important in the case of the social and human sciences. In society, the ideals of the natural social order can vary strongly from
one social group to another, and the pressure to conform acts as a “force” (“social pressure”) on individuals who deviate overly
much from these ideals. Attempts to impose ideological ideals, however, may lead to disaster, as the history of the 20th
century abundantly illustrates.
Homeostasis: The idea of homeostasis can be seen as a generalization of the idea of thermal and chemical equilibrium,
coupled with the idea of negative feedback. This last idea was developed in engineering work aimed at building effective
governors for steam engines. An example of such a governor is shown in Figure 14.1.1, below. Homeostasis is also the basis for
the thermostat, as illustrated in Figure 14.1.2, belo