Are Programming Paradigms Paradigms? A Critical Examination of Floyd's Appropriation of Kuhn's Philosophy

TL;DR

The paper argues that the term 'programming paradigms' in computing diverges significantly from Kuhn's notion of scientific paradigms, driven by Floyd's appropriation in his 1978 lecture. It analyzes Kuhn's paradigm concept (including paradigm singularity) and Floyd's uses (such as structured programming and state-machine paradigms), situating them within related scholarly critiques. The findings show that programming approaches coexist and mix rather than follow a single dominant paradigm, implying a misalignment with Kuhn and a broad, elastic usage of the term in computing literature. The work advocates terminological clarity—favoring terms like methodologies or approaches—and highlights the practical reality of eclectic, anarchistic mixing of methods in software development.

Abstract

This paper examines the philosophical relationship between Thomas Kuhn's concept of scientific paradigms and the programming paradigm concept in computing that was introduced by Floyd in his 1978 Turing Award lecture. Through critical analysis of both Kuhn's original framework and its application in computing, we argue that the contemporary usage of `programming paradigms' represents a significant departure from Kuhn's philosophical concept. We demonstrate that while Floyd explicitly attributed this term to Kuhn's work, his usage fundamentally altered the concept's meaning. We argue that this divergence necessitates a critical reassessment of the term's usage in computing discourse.