exemplars

This chapter clarifies the concept of paradigms by introducing the term 'disciplinary matrix' to describe the constellation of shared commitments within scientific communities, including symbolic generalizations, models, values, and exemplars. Kuhn emphasizes the complexity and variability of these components, particularly the role of shared values in guiding scientific judgment and the importance of exemplars as concrete problem-solving examples that shape scientific education and practice.

This chapter elaborates on the concept of incommensurability between successive scientific theories, emphasizing that scientists debating theory choice often use the same vocabulary differently, leading to partial communication and the necessity of persuasion rather than proof. Kuhn explains that scientific revolutions involve changes in fundamental similarity relations learned from exemplars, causing shifts in classification and language use that complicate communication. He further discusses how translation between language communities can facilitate understanding, persuasion, and sometimes conversion, though these processes are neither straightforward nor guaranteed.