Era Paradigms: Past, Present, and Potential

Dr. Sharon L. Bender

December, 1999

What are "era paradigms?"

We are each likely familiar with the concepts of past, present, and future. It is not a leap to consider that our future is our potential. In fact, this is a better way to view our future. Rather than a stagnant unknown and useless projection, we are better able to act today to affect our future and thus or potential. We can also consider our past, present, and potential eras as the industrial era, the informational era, and the environmental era.

Industrial, Informational, and Environmental Eras

We hear about sweeping changes, systemic reformation, and paradigm shifts. Our world has been changing, reforming, and shifting throughout the ages; and it has evolved in ways that must in turn affect the way we live and serve within it. This oneness with the world is potentially at the heart of how we envision the coming era. Many minds have put thought to this. I postulate as well that there are many differences between the past, present, and potential eras that I consider are the industrial era, the informational era, and the environmental era.

According to Reigeluth (1999), key markers characterize the industrial and informational ages. Examining what is known about these eras, we are then able to imagine the potential era. Current trends that are increasingly environmental in nature are the emerging markers. But how do we define this emerging era? Looking at what is known about the two points in time (past and present), we are able to triangulate and plot a third point, comprising the environmental era. We won’t be abandoning our past and present eras in moving toward our potential era, but rather we will operate in tandem with all three eras, putting each to its highest and best use.

Another way to understand the past, present, and potential eras is to ask and answer:

Breaking down these three eras we can examine them in terms of paradigms or according to certain structures. The first two eras are already defined as adapted somewhat from Reigeluth's (1999) "key markers." We can then make certain assumptions about the emerging environmental era. How do we operate and relate in these three eras? The following table has been organized by operational and relational components.