--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As in political revolutions, so in…" description: "\"As in political revolutions, so in paradigm choice--there is no standard higher than the assent of the relevant community. To discover how scientific r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/866/thomas-kuhn-15362_argumentation_as-in-political-revolutions-so-in-paradi_1506249.png" --- # As in political revolutions, so in paradigm choice--there… ![“As in political revolutions, so in paradigm choice--there is no standard higher than the assent of the relevant community. To discover how scientific revolutions are effected, we shall therefore have to examine not only the impact of nature and of logic, but also the techniques of persuasive…” quote by Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/866/thomas-kuhn-15362_argumentation_as-in-political-revolutions-so-in-paradi_1506249.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/866/thomas-kuhn-15362_argumentation_as-in-political-revolutions-so-in-paradi_1506249.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/866/thomas-kuhn-15362_argumentation_as-in-political-revolutions-so-in-paradi_1506249.png) > “As in political revolutions, so in paradigm choice--there is no standard higher than the assent of the relevant community. To discover how scientific revolutions are effected, we shall therefore have to examine not only the impact of nature and of logic, but also the techniques of persuasive argumentation effective within the quite special groups that constitute the community of scientists.” [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific paradigms shift when the majority of scientists accept them, not solely through data or logic but also via persuasive discourse within the community. **In simple terms:** Paradigm shifts need community agreement, not just facts. Key Takeaway Seek consensus and persuasive communication in scientific debates. Themes science paradigm shifts community consensus persuasion Mood analytical critical reflective Type philosophical academic theoretical When to use this quote - research proposals - policy making - academic publishing - grant reviews Key Concepts Epistemology social constructivism argumentation theory Questions to Reflect On - How does community bias influence scientific truth? - What role does rhetoric play in accepting new theories? A Different Perspective Consensus may suppress minority insights and delay innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Impact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impact/) [Logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/logic/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Paradigm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradigm/) [Persuasive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuasive/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-revolution/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientific revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-revolution/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique/) ## Related quotes > [As in political revolutions, so in paradigm choice-there is no standard higher than the assent of the relevant community... this issue of paradigm choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/as-in-political-revolutions-so-in-paradigm-choice-there-is-no/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [Revolutions are effected in two ways, by force and by fraud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/revolutions-are-effected-in-two-ways-by-force-and-by-fraud/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Political revolutions aim to change political institutions in ways that those institutions themselves prohibit. Their success therefore necessitates the partial relinquishment of one set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/political-revolutions-aim-to-change-political-institutions-in-ways/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [Now since France has three times in sixty years failed to obtain practical results from Political revolutions, all Europe is apt to press forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lajos-kossuth/now-since-france-has-three-times-in-sixty-years-failed-to-obtain/) [Lajos Kossuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lajos-kossuth/) > [Humanity has experienced many revolutionary changes over the course of history: revolutions in agriculture, in science, industrial production, as well as numerous political revolutions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/humanity-has-experienced-many-revolutionary-changes-over-the-course/) [Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/) > [And lastly, the political revolutions from 1911 to the present time have done more to bring about tremendous social changes everywhere than even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hu-shih/and-lastly-the-political-revolutions-from-1911-to-the-present-time/) [Hu Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hu-shih/) > [There is little doubt that we are in the midst of a revolution of a much more profound and fundamental nature than the social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-erickson/there-is-little-doubt-that-we-are-in-the-midst-of-a-revolution-of-a/) [Arthur Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-erickson/) > [For hundreds of millions of people, the fall of the Berlin Wall was a great triumph: The moment marked the end of hated dictatorships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/for-hundreds-of-millions-of-people-the-fall-of-the-berlin-wall-was-a/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [All political revolutions, not affected by foreign conquest, originate in moral revolutions. The subversion of established institutions is merely one consequence of the previous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-political-revolutions-not-affected-by-foreign-conquest-originate/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [I am fully aware of the concept of political revolutions. After all, that is what we hoped might happen in the U.S.S.R. and Eastern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/i-am-fully-aware-of-the-concept-of-political-revolutions-after-all/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) > [“Scientific revolutions tend to emerge not from a sudden discovery but by asking better questions”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-feldman-barrett/scientific-revolutions-tend-to-emerge-not-from-a-sudden-discovery-but/) [Lisa Feldman Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-feldman-barrett/) > [“Science is an inherent contradiction — systematic wonder — applied to the natural world. In its mundane form, the methodical instinct prevails and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis-fari-amini-and-richard-lannon/science-is-an-inherent-contradiction-systematic-wonder-applied-to-the/) Thomas Lewis Fari Amini and Richard Lannon > [Scientific revolutions, almost by definition, defy common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/scientific-revolutions-almost-by-definition-defy-common-sense/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [The most important scientific revolutions all include, as their only common feature, the dethronement of human arrogance from one pedestal after another of previous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-most-important-scientific-revolutions-all-include-as-their-only/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [...As Thomas Kuhn pointed out in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, new scientific theories in any field are regarded with skepticism because scientists become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/as-thomas-kuhn-pointed-out-in-the-structure-of-scientific-revolutions/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) ## More by Thomas Kuhn > [“The question I hoped to answer,was how much mechanics Aristotle had known, how much he had left for people such as Galileo and Newton…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/the-question-i-hoped-to-answer-was-how-much-mechanics-aristotle-had/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [Far from being magisterial in its objectivity, science was conditioned by history, society, and the prejudices of scientists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/far-from-being-magisterial-in-its-objectivity-science-was-conditioned/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [No part of the aim of normal science is to call forth new sorts of phenomena; indeed those that will not fit the box…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/no-part-of-the-aim-of-normal-science-is-to-call-forth-new-sorts-of/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [History, if viewed as a repository for more than anecdote or chronology, could produce a decisive transformation in the image of science by which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/history-if-viewed-as-a-repository-for-more-than-anecdote-or/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [We see the world in terms of our theories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/we-see-the-world-in-terms-of-our-theories/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [All crises begin with the blurring of a paradigm and the consequent loosening of the rules for normal research. .. Or finally, the case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/all-crises-begin-with-the-blurring-of-a-paradigm-and-the-consequent/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [As in political revolutions, so in paradigm choice-there is no standard higher than the assent of the relevant community... this issue of paradigm choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/as-in-political-revolutions-so-in-paradigm-choice-there-is-no/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [Each paradigm will be shown to satisfy more or less the criteria that it dictates for itself and to fall short of a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/each-paradigm-will-be-shown-to-satisfy-more-or-less-the-criteria-that/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [It is, I think, particularly in periods of acknowledged crisis that scientists have turned to philosophical analysis as a device for unlocking the riddles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/it-is-i-think-particularly-in-periods-of-acknowledged-crisis-that/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [Almost always the men who achieve these fundamental inventions of a new paradigm have been either very young or very new to the field…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/almost-always-the-men-who-achieve-these-fundamental-inventions-of-a/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [What chemists took from Dalton was not new experimental laws but a new way of practicing chemistry (he himself called it the 'new system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/what-chemists-took-from-dalton-was-not-new-experimental-laws-but-a/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [What a man sees depends both upon what he looks at and also upon what his previous visual-conceptual experience has taught him to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/what-a-man-sees-depends-both-upon-what-he-looks-at-and-also-upon-what/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [Individuals who break through by inventing a new paradigm are almost always either very young men or very new to the field whose paradigm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/individuals-who-break-through-by-inventing-a-new-paradigm-are-almost/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [Philosophers of science have repeatedly demonstrated that more than one theoretical construction can always be placed upon a given collection of data.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/philosophers-of-science-have-repeatedly-demonstrated-that-more-than/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) > [Under normal conditions the research scientist is not an innovator but a solver of puzzles, and the puzzles upon which he concentrates are just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-kuhn/under-normal-conditions-the-research-scientist-is-not-an-innovator/) [Thomas Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) [Explore all 43 Thomas Kuhn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-kuhn/) ## More Argumentation quotes > [“An objection which applies to all conduct can be no valid objection to any conduct in particular.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/an-objection-which-applies-to-all-conduct-can-be-no-valid-objection/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [ They \[human beings\] are unwilling to gamble that God made those people who are skilled at rational argumentation uniquely virtuous. They protect themselves and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-g-march/they-human-beings-are-unwilling-to-gamble-that-god-made-those-people/) [James G. March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-g-march/) > [“Aus, vorbei. Meine fein ausgeklügelte Argumentation, die aus Ich will nicht besteht, fällt in sich zusammen. Also doch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/aus-vorbei-meine-fein-ausgekl-gelte-argumentation-die-aus-ich-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Al-Ghazali is the most important philosophical theologian of classical Islam, and Moderation in Belief is among his most important works. It sets out al-Ghazali's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/al-ghazali-is-the-most-important-philosophical-theologian-of/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [Do not dispute with anyone in any matter as far as possible. For in argumentation lies much harm and its evil is greater than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ghazali/do-not-dispute-with-anyone-in-any-matter-as-far-as-possible-for-in/) [Al-Ghazali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ghazali/) > [“There comes a point when careful argumentation fails, a time when we are "casting pearls before swine." As Proverbs tells us: "Don't answer a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-m-jones-iii/there-comes-a-point-when-careful-argumentation-fails-a-time-when-we/) [Douglas M. Jones III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-m-jones-iii/) > [I think sometimes younger people - not necessarily thinkers and intellectuals and the like, but people who are on social media and who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/i-think-sometimes-younger-people-not-necessarily-thinkers-and/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [As a science, logic institutes an analysis of the process of the mind in reasoning, and investigating the principles on which argumentation is conducted;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/as-a-science-logic-institutes-an-analysis-of-the-process-of-the-mind/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [“1. God is (by definition) a being than which no greater being can be thought. 2. Greatness includes greatness of virtue. 3. Therefore, God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-n-walton/1-god-is-by-definition-a-being-than-which-no-greater-being-can-be/) Douglas N. Walton > [When an apologist attempts to be autonomous in his reasoned argumentation he indicates that he considers God to be less certain than his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-l-bahnsen/when-an-apologist-attempts-to-be-autonomous-in-his-reasoned/) [Greg L. Bahnsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-l-bahnsen/) > [In learning and argumentation, the quality brain is similar to a facility of maximum security. What passes the logic test, free of fallacy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/in-learning-and-argumentation-the-quality-brain-is-similar-to-a/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [If thou continuous to take delight in idle argumentation thou mayest be qualified to combat with the sophists, but will never know how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-thou-continuous-to-take-delight-in-idle-argumentation-thou-mayest/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“Repetition of an argument proves your determination, not truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/repetition-of-an-argument-proves-your-determination-not-truth/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [Progress and Poverty was the most closely knit, fascinating, and convincing specimen of argumentation that, I believe, ever sprang from the mind of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-brooks/progress-and-poverty-was-the-most-closely-knit-fascinating-and/) [Scott Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-brooks/) > [“Be brave enough to belittle your belief, before you belittle a person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/be-brave-enough-to-belittle-your-belief-before-you-belittle-a-person/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) Browse all 43 Argumentation quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As in political revolutions, so in paradigm choice--there is no standard higher than the assent of the relevant community. 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