PARADIGM SHIFTS IN CRIMINOLOGY AND DEVIANCE - A SOCIOLOGY-OF-KNOWLEDGE APPROACH (FROM NEW AND THE OLD CRIMINOLOGY, 1978, BY EDITH ELISABETH FLYNN AND JOHN P CONRAD - SEE NCJ-47562)

• NCJ Number: 47567
• Author(s): J A SCIMECCA; S LEE
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 11 pages
• Corporate Author: Praeger Publishers
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

CRIMINOLOGY AND THE SOCIOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE ARE ANALYZED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF KUHN'S 'THE STRUCTURE OF SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS,' AN IMPORTANT BOOK ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE.

Abstract

KUHN INVOKES THE CONCEPT OF 'PARADIGM' TO EXPLAIN THE HISTORY OF THE NATURAL SCIENCES. A PARADIGM IS A MODEL OR DOMINANT THEORY UPON WHICH ADDITIONAL THEORIES AND RESEARCH ARE BASED. PARADIGMS GAIN A DOMINANT STATUS BECAUSE THEY HELP THOSE PRACTITIONERS WHO ACCEPT THEM TO SUCCESSFULLY SOLVE A NUMBER OF ACUTE PROBLEMS. RESEARCH IS BASED ON A SHARED PARADIGM WITH COMMITMENT TO THE SAME RULES AND STANDARDS FOR SCIENTIFIC PRACTICE. THEREFORE, PARADIGMS ARE NEITHER UNIVERSAL OR ETERNAL, AND THE FIRST STEP TOWARD CHANGE IS THE AWARENESS OF ANOMALY. WHEN AN ANOMALY DEVELOPS TO THE POINT WHERE IT CAN NO LONGER BE IGNORED, PERHAPS DUE TO THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW POSSIBLE PARADIGM, A CRISIS DEVELOPS. HOWEVER, IT IS FELT THAT THE ROLE OF AN ANOMALY IS RELATIVELY UNIMPORTANT IN SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH. ANOMALIES ARE FOUND THROUGHOUT SOCIAL SCIENCE, AND IF THEIR DISCOVERY CAUSED PARADIGM SHIFTS, SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS WOULD BE AN EVERYDAY OCCURRENCE. RATHER, THE ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION OF VARIOUS SCHOOLS IN CRIMINOLOGY AND DEVIANCE HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH THE TRUTH OR FALSITY OF ANY ONE PERSPECTIVE, OR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ANOMALY. INSTEAD, THE SOCIAL CONDITIONS SHAPING THE ASSUMPTIONS OF PRACTITIONERS IN THE FIELD LARGELY DETERMINE PARADIGM SHIFTS. A REVIEW OF THREE PARADIGM SHIFTS CRIMINOLOGY HAS UNDERGONE SINCE THE LATE 1940'S (E.G., FROM FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS TO SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM AND THEN TO CONFLICT ANALYSIS) SUPPORTS SUCH A MODIFICATION OF KUHN'S PHILOSOPHY. CHANGE OCCURS IN RESPONSE TO SHIFTING BACKGROUND AND DOMAIN ASSUMPTIONS. BACKGROUND ASSUMPTIONS ARE SUCH GENERAL AND THOROUGHLY INTERNALIZED ORIENTATIONS THAT PRACTITIONERS MAY NOT BE AWARE OF THEM. DOMAIN ASSUMPTIONS ARE THOSE ATTITUDES ATTRIBUTED TO ALL MEMBERS OF A DOMAIN; IN PART THEY ARE SHAPED BY THE THINKER'S WORLD HYPOTHESES AND, IN TURN, THEY SHAPE HER OR HIS DELIBERATELY WROUGHT THEORIES. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (BAC)