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.
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.