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forward part 4, non-linear dynamics
John O'Brien (JOBRIEN@UCS.INDIANA.EDU)
Mon, 20 Jun 1994 01:23:13 EST
PART 4: MARXISTS AND THOSE IN POL/ECON WILL BE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN
FIGURE 5. IN THE HAMILTON, ET.AL., ARTICLE. IT GIVES A VIEW OF STRUCTURE WHICH
ANSWERS MUCH OF THE MODERNIST CRITIQUE THAT CLASS STRUCTURE IS NO LONGER A
USEFUL ANALYTIC CONCEPT...IT TURNS OUT THAT SUCH STRUCTURES MAY BE SO LOOSE
AND SO VARIABLE THAT THE RESEARCH TACTICS USED IN MODERN SCIENCE SIMPLY CANNOT
FIND THEM. AND, IT TURNS OUT, AS WELL AS VARYING FACTICITY, THERE MAY BE
VARYING CAUSALITY BETWEEN SUCH 'FUZZY' STRUCTURES DEPENDING ON THE KIND OF
FEEDBACK LOOPS BETWEEN, SAY, CLASS AND EDUCATION; CLASS AND STATUS; CLASS
AND RELIGION. MARXISTS, IN THE SAME FASHION, MUST SURRENDER THE IDEA THAT
CLASS IS EVERYWHERE AND ALWAYS DETERMINATIVE...THAT IS AN EMPIRICAL QUESTION
WHICH JUST MIGHT BE ANSWERED BY THESE NEW TECHNIQUES GIVEN ADEQUATE RESEARCH
DESIGNS AND ADEQUATE RESEARCH TOOLS. A WHOLE NEW EPOCH IS UPON THE QUEST
FOR EMANCIPATORY KNOWLEDGE.
THE HAMITON, ET.AL., ARTICLE APPEARS IN A BRAND NEW JOURNAL, CHAOS AND NURSING,
EDITED BY ANGELA VICENZI, S. CONN. ST. UNIV. IT'S PROBABLY NOT IN YOUR LIBRARY
COPIES MAY BE OBTAINED FROM DR. VICENZI BY WRITING TO SCSU, 501 CRESANT ST.,
NEW HAVEN, CT. OR SENDING A FAX TO [203] 397-4154, $10 PER ISSUE.
FINALLY, I REGARD IT A DELICIOUS IRONY IF NURSES AND A NURSING JOURNAL SUCCEEDS
IN HELPING BRING SOC/MED AND PHIL OF SCIENCE INTO THE 21ST CENTURY AND INTO
POSTMODERN PHIL/SCI. SO MUCH TURMOIL IN HEALTH SCIENCES THAT SUCH NEW JOURNALS
ARE TO BE EXPECTED...I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS RESEARCH FOR TWO YEARS AND AM
DELIGHTED TO BE SO CLOSE TO THAT ACTION OF A FIRST RATE TEAM PLAYING IN A VERY
DIFFICULT LEAGUE...GLAD I PAID THE PRICE FOR MY TICKET...LOTS OF READING.
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