Netters and Lurkers.

My apologies for bringing paradigms up for discussion again.

"All of the social sciences, and all of the learned professions, have by
now gone through a process of Kuhnianization, marked by an increased
willingness to admit that there is no single model for good work in an
academic discipline, that the criteria for good work have changed
throughout the course of history, and probably will continue to change."

                                                               (Rorty
1997).


Within the podiatric literature base, the topic of paradigms and their
place in academic discourse has been discussed, particularly by Craig Payne
in his J.A.P.MA. and A.J.P.M. papers of 1998 and 1997 respectfully.

Further to these two erudite and excellent landmark papers, discussion has
been voiced both on and off the mailbase about the established Root
paradigm and whether or not it is to be considered a paradigm in decline.
In addition, discussion has also been generated with regard to the
existence of alternative paradigmatic candidates such as the sagittal plane
facilitation (Dananberg) system of approach, the model of approach being
developed by Dr. Eric Fuller, the tissue stress model of Drs. McPoil and
Hunt, the mathematical clinical foot modelling work of Dr. Phillip Demp,
and indeed, whether some of these models of approach in their present
evolutionary format can be considered as viable replacements to the Root
model.

Rather than to pass any comment on the aforestated, I would like to instead
ask the following question:

What defining criteria or set of credentials (for want of a better word)
initially prompt a community of practitioners (to use a phrase of Kuhn's)
to embrace or to consider embracing a working/ theoretical system of
approach as a working paradigm or potential future paradigm? Or to put it
another way, what defining elements within an ostensibly distinct system of
approach initially leads towards a "community of practitioners" (in this
case, podiatric practitioners) embracing it as a working paradigm or a
potential future paradigm?

I would be interested in any responses.

Many regards,

Eric Lee.


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