Axiom vs. Paradigm — What's the Difference?

An axiom, postulate or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Greek axíōma (ἀξίωμα) 'that which is thought worthy or fit' or 'that which commends itself as evident.'The term has subtle differences in definition when used in the context of different fields of study.

In science and philosophy, a paradigm () is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitutes legitimate contributions to a field.

A statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true

A typical example or pattern of something; a pattern or model

A self-evident or universally recognized truth; a maxim

A set of linguistic items that form mutually exclusive choices in particular syntactic roles

An established rule, principle, or law.

(in the traditional grammar of Latin, Greek, and other inflected languages) a table of all the inflected forms of a particular verb, noun, or adjective, serving as a model for other words of the same conjugation or declension.

A self-evident principle or one that is accepted as true without proof as the basis for argument; a postulate.

One that serves as a pattern or model.

(philosophy) A seemingly self-evident or necessary truth which is based on assumption; a principle or proposition which cannot actually be proved or disproved.

A set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its grammatical categories

A fundamental assumption that serves as a basis for deduction of theorems; a postulate (sometimes distinguished from postulates as being universally applicable, whereas postulates are particular to a certain science or context).

A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.

An established principle in some artistic practice or science that is universally received.

A pattern, a way of doing something, especially a pattern of thought, a system of beliefs, a conceptual framework.

A self-evident and necessary truth, or a proposition whose truth is so evident as first sight that no reasoning or demonstration can make it plainer; a proposition which it is necessary to take for granted; as, "The whole is greater than a part;" "A thing can not, at the same time, be and not be."

An example serving as the model for such a pattern.

An established principle in some art or science, which, though not a necessary truth, is universally received; as, the axioms of political economy.

(linguistics) A set of all forms which contain a common element, especially the set of all inflectional forms of a word or a particular grammatical category.

A saying that widely accepted on its own merits

An example; a model; a pattern.

(logic) a proposition that is not susceptible of proof or disproof; its truth is assumed to be self-evident

An example of a conjugation or declension, showing a word in all its different forms of inflection.

An illustration, as by a parable or fable.

A theory providing a unifying explanation for a set of phenomena in some field, which serves to suggest methods to test the theory and develop a fuller understanding of the topic, and which is considered useful until it is be replaced by a newer theory providing more accurate explanations or explanations for a wider range of phenomena.

Systematic arrangement of all the inflected forms of a word

A standard or typical example;

The class of all items that can be substituted into the same position (or slot) in a grammatical sentence (are in paradigmatic relation with one another)

The generally accepted perspective of a particular discipline at a given time;