Re: more about time

Naoki Ueno (nueno who-is-at nier.go.jp)
Fri, 28 Nov 1997 22:43:08 +0900

Jay,

Thank you so much for your comments on my mail.

I think that a starting point is quite different between you and me.
(Actually, it will take much time to explain it. Today, I only write it
briefly.)

For example,
according to my understanding,
the popular view that conversation analysis and ethnomethodology are
micro analysis is, in short, wrong.

Rather, how one thinks about social facts or society is quite different
between traditional sociology and ethnomethodology.
In this case, micro-macro distinction is not critical at all.
If one introduces micro-macro distinction in this context,
the critical point definitely disappears.

The most available book regarding the above point is Lucy Suchman's
"Plan and Situated Actions", especially chapter 4.
This time, never read Giddens's textbook.

One more point is that
the movement of situated approach is not only aganist cognitivisim but
againist traditional sociology.

I think traditional sociology is the other side of coin of cognitivism.
Traditional sociologists are (or will be) very good friends of cognitivists.
So, just importion of traditional sociology never gives us solutions,
or integration at all, I think. Rather, it is a way to go back to cognitivisim
again.

Plotting theory, approach, and methodology in the dimesion of
micro-macro often makes ones miss the critical points.
Formulating Bourdieu and Latour as Macro and ethnomethodology
and Chicago school as micro does not say anything.

Rather, one of the points may be around the following thing.
You wrote in the previous mail as follows;

>In this respect all methods are necessarily
>distorting and incomplete, that is why we always need multiple methods.

It seems to me that the expression such as "distorting and incomplete"
presupposes social facts as objective entity. It presuposes "reality"
and "description" distinction as well.
Rather, I think, one's descriptions of history, and society are necessarily
part of his/her reality or circumastance.
Description or formulation of history and society is not just description
but part of active constitution of history and society.

Naoki Ueno
NIER, Tokyo