Abstract
Cleavages between modern and postmodern paradigms are evident in all academic disciplines. The modernist search for natural laws and unified theory using impartial methods is undermined by the postmodernist critique that reality is socially constructed. We review this conflict in the context of paradigm shifts in psychology, which we argue are social rather than scientific revolutions, leading to a non-cumulative discipline where objectivity is preached yet subjectivity dictates many practices. Disputes over paradigms are couched in epistemology but center also around differences in values. The insight offered by neo-Confucian philosophers is that values have an ontological basis that cannot empirically derived. Li-i-fen-shu (one principle, many manifestations) and t'ien-jen-ho-i (heaven and humanity in union) form a value system with breadth and depth for the social sciences. Li-i-fen-shu allows multiple methods of inquiry and multiple manifestations of cultural reality to derive from one source. T'ien-jen-ho-i relates each act and actor to holistic processes of nature and interpersonal harmony. Together, they provide a perspective on science and meaning with the potential of synthesizing insights from different paradigms in psychology and other social sciences.
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