Contemporary Accounting: A Critical Analysis of Kuhn's Paradigm and Chambers' Contributions

Running head: CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING
Contemporary Accounting
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING1
Table of Contents
Introduction and Executive Summary..........................................................................................2
Kuhn’s Paradigm and structure of scientific revolutions.............................................................2
Chamber’s revolutionary contributions.......................................................................................4
Critical appreciation of Chambers’ contributions........................................................................6
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................8
References..................................................................................................................................10

CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING2
Introduction and Executive Summary
The main aim of this report is to conduct a critical analysis and application of Thomas
Kuhn’s theory on paradigm shifts and his observations about the structure of scientific
revolutions. After which, the focus of the research shifts to the contributions of Professor Ray J
Chambers to the field of accounting. An application of Kuhn’s theories is then made to
understand the nature of the changes brought about by Professor Chamber’s contributions and
their relevance in the modern day accounting environment. The research has revealed that
Kuhn’s theory has suggested that the scientific progress achieved in any field is not a continuous
process and there occurs a revolution which changes the entire structure of the way that field
functions. This is the reason why some of the theories suggested at a particular point of time
become irrelevant in the future. This is because of the fact that their limitations become too
apparent. However, this is not the case with the theories of Professor Chambers as they are
considered to be very relevant in the modern day.
Kuhn’s Paradigm and structure of scientific revolutions
The findings of Thomas Samuel Kuhn in his book The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions suggests that there are three phases in the way in which scientific progress in a
particular field occurs. These are known as the pre-paradigm phase, normal scientific phase and
the revolution phase (de Oliveira Pires, 2013). The pre-paradigm phase is a regular phase in
which there are no accepted scientific theories and there are a lot of theories that compete with
each other to become the widely accepted theory. Hence, paradigm can be suggested as an
acceptable model or pattern that records most of the governing principles of a particular topic.
Once a particular theory is accepted as one that constitutes a paradigm, the next phase known as
the normal scientific phase begins. In this phase, the theory which becomes accepted in the pre-

CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING3
paradigm phase is taken as a basis for the researches that occur in the future in that particular
area. After which the paradigm shifts again due to the emergence of a new phase called as the
revolution phase. The revolution phase is an important phase. It causes a complete shift in most
of the accepted principles up to that point and the field moves towards what is popular as the
paradigm shift (Kuhn, 2012). This occurs due to the discovery of new principles which were not
known to have existed before. There are a vast number of anomalies or inconsistencies
discovered in the old paradigm which causes a crisis in the particular paradigm. These
anomalies are the reason why a particular paradigm begins to become irrelevant after a certain
point. Another reason for this occurrence is Kuhn’s rationale that only one paradigm can exist at
a particular point of time. The lack of interaction between paradigms occurs due to the
differences in the timelines and knowledge levels of the experts existing at that particular point
of time. Young scientists often tend to be different from their older counterparts and hence the
findings of these scientists are mostly related to a completely new area which was not known to
have existed before (Weinert, 2014). Kuhn further suggests that the change in paradigm causes
discontinuities in the growth of the knowledge acquired in a particular field and any further
findings related to that particular area are not undertaken anymore. However, he suggests that the
old paradigm cannot be considered to be completely irrelevant as there occur situations in which
the new paradigm draws some parallels from the old paradigm. Another concept that was
highlighted by Kuhn in his book was the problem of ‘incommensurability’ (Hoyningen-Huene,
2015). This is known as the specific characteristics of a particular area that are limited to that
area itself and cannot be translated or identified in another area. Although his views support the
theory of evolution, it is different from what is generally accepted as evolution. Kuhn suggests
that a shift in paradigm is also a form of evolution. It is the change in which science overcomes