Re: Responsibility for our theories
Charles Bazerman (bazerman who-is-at humanitas.ucsb.edu)
Thu, 4 Jan 1996 14:29:29 -0800 (PST)
Just to be explicit about conflict theories and responsible use of theories,
since Judy thought my position elliptical--
I find many useful things in conflict theories, and I invoke them
where they seem the right tool. I think, for example that both Bourdieu
and Latour describe many aspects of
the world I see around me, identify many aspects of my own situation
and behavior, and give me strong tools to carry out my own actions
strategically and situationally. On the other hand, I see many things
around me that are accounted for by neither, I don't find they fully
account for my the totallity of my own motives and behavior, they do not
give me useful guidance for many situations and they onlyu give me
partial guidance in many complex situations, Nor do they help me enact my
full range of motives. Finally, I would be unhappy in any universe which
operated totally as they describe, and I would not want to be a party to
encouraging people to act as if they had the universe were simply and
totally Bourdieuian or Latourian.
Does that fill in the ellipsis?
Chuck