From: ajit sinha (sinha_a99@YAHOO.COM)
Date: Sun Nov 06 2005 - 10:50:17 EST
France is not burning Paul. It is amazing to see how normal Paris is. You would not know that even a leaf was burning just north of the city if you didn't watch the news! ajit --- Paul Zarembka <zarembka@BUFFALO.EDU> wrote: > France burns and Derrida's ghosts are discussed. > Paul Z. > > ************************************************************************ > RESEARCH IN POLITICAL ECONOMY, Paul Zarembka, > editor, Elsevier Science > ********************* > http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PZarembka > > > On Sun, 6 Nov 2005 glevy@PRATT.EDU wrote: > > > ---------------------------- Original Message > ------------------------ > > Subject: Derrida's ghosts > > From: "Jurriaan Bendien" > <adsl675281@tiscali.nl> > > Date: Sun, November 6, 2005 7:01 am > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > For what it's worth, I took an interest in > complexity theory twenty years > > ago, when I studied Ernest Mandel's interpretation > of Marx's economics > > (see Ernest Mandel, 'Partially independent > variables and internal logic > > in classical Marxist economic analysis', in Social > Science Information > > vol. 24 no. 3 (1985), pp. 487-88 reprinted in Ulf > Himmelstrand, Interfaces > > in Economic & Social Analysis, London 1992). > > > > But a lot of talk about complexity theory, > especially in social science, > > is I think really based on: > > > > -a confusion about the purpose of theory > > -a confusion about the method of obtaining > knowledge. > > > > Theory properly understood is generalisations > about experiences which are, > > however, not reducible to those experiences (as in > naive empiricism of > > the "covering law" type). A generalisation is a > simplification of sorts. > > The point of theory is not to "theorise > complexity", but to identify > > those salient aspects of a complex reality that > can explain it or make it > > comprehensible; the best scientific theory is the > simplest theory with > > the greatest explanatory power. > > > > Of course, obscurantists start talking > "complexity" when they haven't > > studied the facts, and cannot explain them; that > is a sort of speculative > > philosophy, propagated by people who think > themselves very > > "sophisticated". > > > > I think also that really the best way to learn to > understand so-called > > "complexity" is just to live your own life, and > reflect on your own > > experience of it. For the rest, I'm happy to leave > the summarising of > > complexity theories about complexity to my > doppelganger Joshua Goldstein, > > who sells a lot of books that way :-). > > > > Jurriaan > > > > > > > __________________________________ Yahoo! FareChase: Search multiple travel sites in one click. http://farechase.yahoo.com
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