As stated in the Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy: "Paradigm, as used by Thomas Kuhn, refers to a set of scientific and metaphysical beliefs that make up a theoretical framework within which scientific theories can be tested, evaluated and if necessary revised." The Triune Continuum Paradigm holds true to this definition by defining a set of scientific principles within which conceptual frameworks used for system modeling in different contexts can be built, tested, evaluated, and revised. For an existent modeling framework, the paradigm allows the framework to be tested against its principles, showing framework deficiencies, if any, explaining how to fix the deficiencies in a possible revision of the framework. When building a new system modeling framework, the paradigm provides guidelines on how to do so, assuring the resulting quality of the framework. According to Herrera et al., the Triune Continuum Paradigm is a complete theoretical base that can be used for building or for improving modern modeling frameworks that are employed for system modeling in different contexts, in particular in software development and in the engineering of enterprise information systems.
Foundations and their implications
The Triune Continuum Paradigm is based on three theories: on Tarski's theory of truth, on Russell's theory of types, and on the theory of the triune continuum. The theories, when applied to general system modeling, produce three principles:
The first principle assures coherency and unambiguity within modeling interpretations of a single modeling framework.
The second principle assures internal consistency of descriptions and specifications that are constructed with the aid of a modeling framework.
The third principle allows to introduce and to justify the minimal set of modeling concepts that is necessary and sufficient to cover the representation scope of a modeling framework on the most abstract level.
Applications of the paradigm
The Triune continuum paradigm can be applied in practice either to improve an existing system modeling framework or to design a new system modeling framework for a given purpose.
