A paradigmatic approach to security sciences

Abstract

T.S. Kuhn’s concept of paradigm differentiates between mature sciences and pre-paradigm sciences. In the case of the latter, it is possible for various approaches to compete with one another. Polish security sciences are currently occupied with seeking paradigms. On the one hand, this search may lead to a homogenisation of opinions within the discipline, or to opposing views on the other. This search is a consequence of evolving opinions within the field, which has a relatively short history in Poland, and constitutes an attempt at determining its defining features. This paper presents various approaches to the concept of paradigm posited by researchers of broadly-defined security, which, as a consequence, constitute evidence of security’s multi-paradigmaticality. The research problem is to answer the question of whether the approaches presented in this paper actually constitute the basis necessary to formulate a set of coherent scientific foundations of the discipline, as analysed from a paradigmatic point of view.