 Joseph A. Bailey, II, M.D.
This Ideal of Beauty becomes a standard--meaning that all things in the Universe considered beautiful must conform (or strive to conform) to the standard if they are truly to possess that quality. Calling his Ideas (e.g. Beauty) models on which are patterned things of the phenomenal world (i.e. that which can be observed), he said these Ideas were samples of similar Ideas (or Forms) and were also originals proposed for imitation by artists or scientists. Thereafter, the Western "paradigm" came to mean an ideal standard that serves as a model or pattern-a standard to hold up as a guide-a standard pattern against which similar patterns can be compared. In other words, an ancient Western paradigm was (and is) anything that effectively explains or demonstrates a complex idea; or that lays out a process; or that makes a presentation considered typical or representative.
For example, around 140 AD the Greek astronomer Ptolemy formulated the European paradigm that the Earth was the center of the universe-a belief that remained virtually unchallenged for 1300 years. Despite earlier Ancient Africans--and even a few Europeans--showing evidence to the contrary, the church still embraced this false belief. European University professors who felt threatened by the new discoveries united with the church to crush the truth. A Paradigm Shift occurred when Newton published (1687) supporting evidence that the Earth does indeed circle the sun. Thereafter, the basic idea of a paradigm designating a typical example or model to be replicated or followed was extended into technical, religious, sociological, and literary realms. As concepts inside the word "Paradigm" unfolded, its significance as a social term profoundly increased because it determined the color of the lens through which every individual and society viewed (and views) choices, problems and the world.
Examples: Socially, the paradigm that considers individual freedom the highest social value determines the way in which people in the USA think and talk about politics and economics. A purely materialist paradigm sees life as the interaction of physical objects with no God principle at work. A religious paradigm has become a model or understanding that sees life as governed by God or some principle that is the ultimate cause of everything. A scientific achievement, to acquire the status of a paradigm, must offer sufficiently convincing resolutions of previously recognized problems to attract the agreement of enough specialists to form the core of a new consensus. More objectively, in English grammar the paradigm of the verb "to be" is: I am; you are; he is; we are. The pronouns I, you, he, and we can substitute for each other and thus comprise a paradigm. A class of elements so related (‘paradigmatically') constitutes a system-which here is a pronoun system. This particular grammatical pattern embraces a full survey of all forms of nouns, adjectives, verbs, or any other word that can be inflected.
website: jablifeskills.com
Joseph A. Bailey, II, M.D.
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