Thanks very much Gary for responding and sharing your views on these issues.
I think I can agree with all of your points concerning the pitfalls of
collapsing meaning and "truth" (well, with a qualification that IF we
would ever know what "truth" is...:-)
Ethnomethodologists do not talk about "truth" per se, but how people
document for one another what appears to them to be "true enough" "for all
practical purposes" in different concrete situations.
Theories to me are just our TOOLS in the larger activity system in which we
are situated. Personally, I don't think it's useful to talk about
"whether a theory is true" in isolation, or with universal
implications... to me, it's "true" at a certain time for certain
person(s) in certain particular activites (e.g., inquiries).
Why I wrote my message in response to Eugene's legitimate queries about
whether there's something called "identity" or "resistance"? Like what Bill
mentioned in his message, I too think that these notions are tools in
some people's lives and struggles...
for example, if you asked me whether identitiy "exists" for me... I would
say to you: if I were a Zen Buddhist monk, I would not
answer your question but remain silent and smile... it's not something
one can show or prove to you in so many words....
Thanks and cheers,
Angel