Mind as Action (1)
Francoise Herrmann (fherrmann who-is-at igc.apc.org)
Wed, 16 Sep 1998 15:50:11 -0700 (PDT)
Hi Everyone, I am only at chapter 1 and have some serious
disagreements. Hopefully that there is "immunity from
prosecution" for talking freely.
1> I think that Jim's argument is difficult to argue against as
who would want to claim insularity and reductionsim of
understandings and knwledge making pursuits. To me though the
conduct of inquiry occurs in really small scales and contexts, the
steps are tiny and to a certain extent are only really valid and
true to the extent that they apply to a case, and clearly
identified phenomenon. Further, for there to be diffrent "truths"
there has to be differences that are irreducible and I don't know
that such irreducibility can be seen or isolated at the wide
pluralistic levels of analysis. So to me the distinction between
pluralism and reductionism is sort of bogus. It is seen more like
movement from scientific to everyday concetualization, from
specifics (field dependant and highly constained) out to diffrent
fields, methods and perpectives and always back "home". May be
wrong, but I am uncomfortable with embracing what are worlds of
their own, with traditions, histories etc.. It is not to say that
psychologists or anthrologists do not have something important to say
about different phenomena but I cannot imagine that they could
without first being psychologists and anthroplogists.
2> I am shocked that there is no disclaimer or at least some nod
to PC regarding the term "men" as in "Like these men with thier
different and incommensurable perspectives on an elephant etc..."
And I am way, way, way less conscious that Mary B.
Francoise Francoise Herrmann fherrmann who-is-at igc.apc.org
http://www.wenet.net/~herrmann