Subject: Last comment
From: Chris O'Hagan (C.M.Ohagan@derby.ac.uk)
Date: Tue 18 Jan 2000 - 12:57:04 MET
From: "Chris O'Hagan" <C.M.Ohagan@derby.ac.uk> Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 11:57:04 -0000 Subject: Last comment
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I really want to make way for the new formal discussion, which looks
very interesting. But I can't help offering a few brief comments in
attempted conclusion to the recent debate.
I do get a bit annoyed at the caricature of the postmodernist
position as denying all possible meaning or interpretation of
experience - some of the French philosophers have not helped here,
but they can be excused as they were trailblazers. Are myself,
Martin and Ania supposed to be in this 'nihilist/meaningless' camp?
Because I would have thought that everything we have said is
testament to an engagement with the world - or are we the exceptions
that 'prove' the (universal) rule ;-)
We should remember that this debate grew out of discussion of
constructivist views of learning. In fact, radical constructivism is
more or less explicitly postmodern, and social constructivism comes
from similar roots.
I suspect that only Bob, Lewis Wolpert, and (from the grave) Dr
Johnson are happy with naive realism. However, there have been some
attempts to put serious life back into realism/naturalism eg Roy
Baskhar, but these remain fairly philosophically rarified at the
moment. (Just to note by the way that John Hume developed Bishop
Berkeley's philosophical idealism, which lies behind the whole
postmodern debate, and he is described as being of the Scottish
'Common Sense' school of thinkers!!)
There is a position we have not really mentioned, and I suspect that
this is really Bob's - Instrumentalism. Instrumentalists are happy
that 'it works, it's a useful tool' in some way, and do not bother
whether it is a true description of an objective reality or simply
the peculiar human interpretation of peculiarly human
phenomenological experiences. Unfortunately, the hubris of
scientists seems to impel them to claim more than just usefulness,
towards some higher (highest even) intellectual ground based on the
supposed superiority of a supposed method they cannot describe with
any consistency. Instrumentalism is very pragmatic, and indeed looks
quite similar to a postmodern pragmatism, in effect if not origin.
Chris O'Hagan
============================================
Professor Christopher O'Hagan
Dean of Learning Development
Centre for Educational Development and Media
University of Derby
Kedleston Road
DERBY, DE22 1GB
England
Tel: +44 (0)1332 622262 (direct)
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Email: c.m.ohagan@derby.ac.uk
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I am always seeking book proposals for SEDA Publications:
http://www.seda.demon.co.uk/pubsmenu.html
and article proposals for the webzine The Technology Source:
http://horizon.unc.edu/TS
There is a crack - a crack in everything:
That's how the light gets in. L.Cohen, 'Anthem'
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