O poder de agência e a instituição dos paradigmas de conhecimento: subsídios para a análise do agir histórico em ambientes intelectuais

Abstract

Combining the theories of Thomas Kuhn and Cornelius Castoriadis, this work addresses historical action in intellectual environments. The agents' actions are pressed between the set of possibilities available at a given time and their inventiveness, as well as their ability to diverge from the current theoretical set. According to Kuhn, notable for his study of the paradigm of scientific knowledge, the choice of a new paradigm is not determined by logical-rational rules, but rather by symbolic generalizations, models, values ​​and shared examples, which often makes the scientific debate resembles the practice of rhetoric more than normal scientific knowledge. On the other hand, Castoriadis thought of the imaginary as the creator of worldviews. In other words, the patterns on how to think about something are established by imaginative power, which also promotes ruptures with previous thinking. By articulating agency, paradigms of knowledge and imagination, the work proposes a complementary interpretation between the theories of Kuhn and Castoriadis, offering insights into revolutionary processes in intellectual practices.