bill points out:
>One of the truely intruiguing philosophical criticisms of physical
>science -- quantum mechanics -- came out of a little paper by Einstein,
>Podolsky and Rosen in 1935, and that still has not been resolved well
>despite a lot of attention in the last 20 years -- ironically, it has a
>lot to do with what measurement means.
>
>The point being that the plethora of critique is what is valued in 'real
>science'.
...and i agree, whole-heartedly. there are many "kinds" of science, and
the science
that is put to use in contemporary archaeology, for instance, is utterly
astonishing
and quite brilliant - my concern is with the ways social science is
valued, so,
where archaeology is able to make uses of particular technologies and
measurements techniques for dating ancient wood as a way to place a Viking
ship in an historical/geographical/cultural content, i think, is
extraordinary.
by the same token,
i have yet to see any applications of "science" in Education that have
convinced
me that this is an improvement in understanding education ... that
education is
considered to *be* a social science is a concern for me,
that it isn't considered something else, like a sociopolitical
institution, and
"studied" and researched accordingly.
to me, the lack of advancement in education over the past 100 yrs or so
has more
to do with what is being "studied" and for whom, and how... i still see so
little
change, that i cannot help but see this as a problem with "where" education
sees itself - as a Social Science instead of, perhaps, one of the
Humanities.
science is not bad - it is the ways it is put to use, as always, that is
the problem.
and botany does too totally rely on science for its study of flora and
such, chemical
reactions to light, temperature, what ph-balance of soils makes
this-or-that plant work,
genetic engineering of plants, and so on... that doesn't mean it is evil,
but then botany is not a social science - archaeology and education, are.
but jiminy crickets thanks for the response there bill. i ought to have
clarified that i was
referring to the social sciences and not Science as a general activity.
diane
**********************************************************************
:point where everything listens.
and i slow down, learning how to
enter - implicate and unspoken (still) heart-of-the-world.
(Daphne Marlatt, "Coming to you")
***********************************************************************
diane celia hodges
university of british columbia, centre for the study of curriculum and
instruction
==================== ==================== =======================
university of colorado, denver, school of education
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