Gil wrote in [OPE-L:1389]:
> This is not a question of "real" vs "unreal". Formal analysis can
> address real, and for that matter dynamic, and up to a point, contradictory
> phenomena as well.
Up to *what* point can formal mathematical models be used to address
dynamic and contradictory phenomena?
> There are also important modes of inquiry within
> political economy which cannot be "replicated by dialectical means."
For instance?
> Using formal method in social science does not imply that one is
> using "the same methods as physics or chemistry."
Agreed, but there are some who believe that one *can* use the same
methods of analysis in chemistry, physics, and political economy.
> > Are there not inherent problems
> > and limitations with such a method that stem from the nature of the
> > algebra used?
>
> Yes. And one could pose a parallel question, yielding the same
> affirmative answer, by substituting "dialectical method" into the
> foregoing question.
Then, what are the inherent problems and limitations of the "dialectical
method"?
> I'm not sure about this imagery (biting on a can of worms? Yuch),
> but there it is.
The fish must be biting on the Thames near the birthplace of Benedict
Arnold. Time to reel them in.
In OPE-L Solidarity,
Jerry