Bill Barowy notes the "black or white" lingo of some of the inseparability
theorists' language. Yes, I have that same observation. One of the goals
of the "Unresolved tensions" article was to develop the theoretical
implications of the inseparability position, by drawing on Giddens's
elaborations of this position in social theory.
In the "Unresolved tensions" article, I note at the end that in practice no
one has been able to conduct empirical work without shifting away from the
"strong inseparability" position. As examples, I give Ed Hutchins and
Barbara Rogoff; both of them have made strong inseparability claims in
their theoretical writings, but in their empirical work they assume one or
another version of analytic dualism. So in practice, I think there is
common ground; but I argue that we need to resolve these theoretical issues
so that our theory is consistent with our practice.
R. Keith Sawyer
http://www.keithsawyer.com/
Assistant Professor
Department of Education
Washington University
Campus Box 1183
St. Louis, MO 63130
314-935-8724
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