Re: Stances
(no name) ((no email))
Tue, 28 May 1996 07:51:20 -0400
The question arises when considering stances
especially multiple stances,
are they multiuple perspectives on the one transcendent (noumenal) reality,
as Roy Bhaskar (1978) A Realist Theory of Science
would contend, or more in line with your thrust are they simply
methodologically pragmatically good choices?
Nicholas Rescher's (1977) Methodological Pragmatism
assertsthat the best we can do is to elevate,pragmatism above "action
praghmatism = do it because the result was goodllast time, and also above
"rule pragmatism= use this rule because it has a history of yielding more good
results from actions than not" to methodological pragmatism+ use this coherent
methodology (eg. Popper's conjectures & refutations methodology) because it has
a history of yielding more reliable predictions and more fruitfull heuristics.
Dennent's stance method is perhaps such a pragmatically successful
method, -the questionis how coherent can or should it be made with
others?
(ps. Dennett's book on Consciousness, is also well worth readfing & contrasting
with Geral EDelman's Extended Theory of Neuronal Group Selection,
but neither quite explains consciousness yet.)
Gary Boyd.