Crispin Weston (crispinw@dircon.co.uk)
Thu, 28 Oct 1999 09:51:01 +0100
From: "Crispin Weston" <crispinw@dircon.co.uk> Subject: Power and positivism Date: Thu, 28 Oct 1999 09:51:01 +0100
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Chris O'Hagan's argument in favour of a broadly post-modernist position
confirms my impression that the appeal of post-modernism is political rather
than epistemological. Chris' argument is all to do with elites, rebels and
powerful political tools: nothing to do with truth.
As one of the "90% of 'mediocrities' who assist the elite by continuing to
peddle myths like academic 'disinterestedness'" I should point out that in
peddling a notion of disinterestedness I do not claim that academics *are*
disinterested, but that it is *desirable* that academics should be as
disinterested as possible. It is surely absurd to argue that the advocacy of
disinterestedness somehow favours corrupt cabals. If you do not believe that
the academic elite *ought* to be more than a corrupt cabal, then what can
you do but congratulate them for getting to the top of the greasy pole ahead
of the rest of us?
<<I think in education we all have a great chance to break free of the
traditional academic chains>>. I would argue that it is the junking of
traditional academic *disciplines* which has produced so much second-rate
educational theory in the last 30 years.
Crispin Weston
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