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Josh D's avatar

"I reject the idea that a paradigm shift is a rupture." I'm inclined to say that this quote alone shows the limits of attempting to engage with Cupich's statements at their face value.

I'm not saying it's impossible for ecclesiastical catchphrases to have rational content, but it's also pretty clear that they're generally used as empty signifiers. When "accompaniment" is being deployed to talk about shutting down TLMs, it's pretty obvious that it could mean just about anything.

A smart churchman will clothe whatever he wants to do in the phrases that are in vogue: accompaniment, discernment, development of doctrine, continuity, unity, etc.

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finbar's avatar

"The premise that ‘paradigm shift’ means a break from the past is unfounded.”"

It is worth noting that the phrase "paradigm shift" was coined by philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn. It refers to his view that science consists of revolutions in which the previous body of science is completely removed from the new science. In his words, Newtonian and Einsteinian physics are incommensurable and scientists within each of those paradigms can't even meaningfully communicate with each other. So a paradigm shift is an absolute, definitive break from the past. An analogy in politics would be a regime change like in Japan after WWII.

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