Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 146:584 (Oct 1989)
Article: Paradigm Shift: A Challenge to Naturalism
Author: Gary R. Habermas

BSac 146:584 (Oct 89) p. 437

Paradigm Shift: A Challenge to Naturalism

Gary R. Habermas

Professor of Philosophy and Apologetics
Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia

Idealism was the dominant philosophy in the Western world in the early 20th century, a holdover from its prominence in the previous century. Stressing the metaphysical reality of mind or spirit and the epistemological centrality of ideas, idealism stood in stark contrast to naturalism, which took its position as the dominant school of thought in the middle of this century. Naturalistic convictions often included the supreme reality of matter, the belief that nature could potentially explain all phenomena, and faith in the empirical, scientific method as the chief means of discovering facts. Such beliefs continue to exercise control on many areas of study.

One interesting facet of the history of ideas is the possibility that either new data or new ways of interpreting the data will encourage new paradigm (or world view) shifts in thinking.1 Many trends indicate that just such a major shift may now be taking place. Just as idealism gave way to naturalism earlier this century, naturalism may now be losing its position of supremacy as a world view.

Physicists Puthoff and Targ, after research at Stanford Research Institute, published Mind-Reach, whose first chapter, “When the Paranormal Becomes Normal,” appropriately asks, “Where will you be standing when the paradigm shifts?”2 The authors consider that a shift in thinking may be occurring.

BSac 146:584 (Oct 89) p. 438

In agreement with this thesis Koestler explains that a “profound transformation of the physicist’s world view” is now taking place—a change that involves the shattering of many established scientific concepts. He holds that those who ridicule the recent studies in parapsychology are in approximately the same position as those who belittled Einsteinian physics earlier this century. A similar breakthrough in studies of the human mind may now be imminent.3

An issue of the SCP Journal was dedicated to an investigation of these changing trends. As reported by Fetcho: “Science, the health professions, and the arts, not to mention psychology and religion, are all engaged in a fundamental reconstruction of their basic premises.”4 In another article Albrecht and Alexander note the rising influence of these new developments:

In the last five years, however, both the scope and the intensity of the occult/mystical encroachment upon th...