See, for example, discursive activity , nonciation , perceptualism . Notable examples are Thomas Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions and Richard Rorty's Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature . Both assert that claims to have discovered objective truth , in science and philosophy respectively, cannot be substantiated and must be replaced by conceptions akin to paradigm shift . See evidence . A relative consensus about something.
Received opinion varies widely, depending upon which group is being investigated.
In such instances, received opinion usually arises without debate or reflection. This is less true of special interest groups. For example, within the art history commmunity, the received opinion about Van Gogh would be more likely to take into account his artistic influences, current art theory , his religious upbringing, etc. In information theory , the audience or target towards which a communication is intended. See irrelevance .