Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Professor of Political Science Department, Azad University, Science and Research Unit, Tehran,
2 Ph.D Student in American Studies, Tehran University, World Studies Faculty
Abstract
The notion of pluralism has developed and expanded through the paradigmatic evolution of modern knowledge; Paradigm’s elements changing have caused paradigm shifts and through these shifts, from the objectivist paradigms to relativist paradigm, and critical and combined approaches, the notion of pluralism has developed and formulated and interpreted differently in each of these different approaches.
During the course of positivism, pluralism growth conditions have been provided negatively. pluralism`s seed placed in the context of modernism in post positivism period, and developed in critical rationalism course and finally became a robust seedlings in dominance of relativism period.
Through the study of knowledge paradigmatic evolution in the West civilization, we can conclude that as the tendency to realistic ontology, absolutist epistemology and quantitative methodology become more we encounter concepts like ‘Centralism’, ‘Holism’, ‘Fundamentalism’, ‘Principalism’, ‘Absolutism’ and ‘Epistemic Dogmatism’ more. So the intensity of commitment to the concept of modern pluralism reduced. On the other hand, as tendency to Idealist ontology, subjective or relativistic epistemology and qualitative methodologies intensifies, some concepts such as ‘Decentralism’, ‘Partial vision’, ‘Destructurim’, ‘Plurality believe’, ‘Relativism’ and ‘Epistemological Skepticism’ are appeared more. So the same result is the case; the commitment to the concept of modern pluralism lessened.
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