Paradigms and Change

A paradigm is a self-consistent set of ideas and beliefs which acts as a filter, influencing how we perceive and make sense of the world. Examples of paradigms include – how to make bread, what a bed looks like, the characteristics of a chair that lend the idea of “chairness”, how we treat sick people in hospital and so on.

The term was first used by Thomas Kuhn in “the structure of scientific revolutions” (1962) to describe the impact of change within the ruling theory of science when fundamental assumptions changed. Kuhn argued that the history of science is not a linear and continuous assimilation of facts but rather a number of revolutions in which new paradigms or new ways of seeing the world, entirely replace the old. Some of his conclusions include:

• No matter how flawed, no paradigm can shift until there is a new paradigm to replace it.
• Paradigms shift because their internal contradictions become unsustainable. This implies that one way to shift paradigms is to reinforce the internal contradictions. A key reason why Apartheid crumbled, for example, is that it became increasingly unprofitable.
• Paradigms also shift as a result of the introduction of new metaphors. Kuhn suggested that the most consequential characteristic of a scientific revolution is “central change of model, metaphor, or analogy – a change in one’s sense of what is similar to what, and of what is different.” This usually occurs when different disciplines intersect and there is a “cross-pollination” of metaphor sets leading to a new way of “seeing” the world.
• Most paradigms shift when enough of the people who supported the old paradigm die.
• A paradigm is a constellation of concepts, values, perceptions and practices shared by a community, which forms a particular vision of reality that is the basis of the way a community organises itself. (Fritjof Capra 1997:6)

A paradigm at the heart of a culture can influence perception and meaning: if we believe that there is a culture of entitlement, we will hear and remember words that support that frame. In addition, the prevailing paradigm encourages certain types of behaviour. If everyone believes there is a blame culture, it is likely that people will behave in blaming ways. In this way, the paradigm becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, a sort of filter which helps make life manageable and gives us a sense of stability in a changing world.

However, it is the stability of paradigms can cause difficulties. Even when a paradigm is no longer useful it will tend to cling on, continuing to filter perceptions. Like culture, paradigms emerge from the interactions between the individuals within the community. They become apparent when they are named and characterised. And when enough people agree about their reality, it has the quality of becoming “real”.

The term “paradigm shift” has found uses in other contexts, representing the notion of major change in thinking. Paradigm shift has also come to suggest a radical change in personal beliefs, complex systems or organisations, replacing the former way of thinking with a radically different way of thinking.

Paradigms and the cultural web

The “cultural web” is a model of culture developed by Jerry Johnson. It describes a paradigm in the centre, comprising a set of core beliefs. These core beliefs result from the multiplicity of conversations that occur within the organisation and which maintains unity of the culture. The six ‘petals’ are manifestations of culture which result from the influence of the central paradigm.

Most change programmes concentrate on the petals and try to effect change by engaging structures, systems and processes. Experience suggests that these initiatives usually have limited success. A lot of time, energy and money is put into the change programme, with all the usual communication, consultations, workshops, and so on. In the first few months things seem to be changing but gradually the novelty wears off and the organisation settles back into something like its previous configuration. he reason for this is simple; unless the paradigm at the heart of the culture is changed there will be no lasting change. This is consistent with the Systems Theory view that any complex system tends towards its lowest energy state (systems are fundamentally lazy).

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