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Reply to my Critics.

Authors :
Kusch, Martin
Source :
Social Studies of Science (Sage Publications, Ltd.). Aug2004, Vol. 34 Issue 4, p615-620. 6p.
Publication Year :
2004

Abstract

This article presents reply of the author to his critics. In this article, he expresses gratitude to David Bloor and Wes Sharrock for their lengthy responses to his article "Rule-Scepticism and the Sociology of Knowledge." According to the author, he has said a little about philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein in his paper. In his reply, Bloor speaks of "Wittgenstein's reductive approach to meaning" and aligns Wittgenstein with his own reductionist ambitions. Whether Bloor's move is defensible depends on what the author means by "reductionism" or "reductive approach." Bloor is surprised that the author finds his position vis-a-vis reductionism ambiguous. In order to make sense of his assessment, he assumes that he must, have ignored "half of the theory" that he puts forward in his article, "Wittgenstein: Rules and Institutions." The author agrees with Bloor that Barry Barnes' work on designation devices is of great interest. Bloor's discussion of Barnes' theory displays precisely the ambiguity that the author was worried about in his paper. According to Bloor, Barnes' paper shows that a structure of non-intentional processes can provide the underpinning and matrix for sustaining intentional processes and which derive their intentionality from it.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
03063127
Volume :
34
Issue :
4
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Social Studies of Science (Sage Publications, Ltd.)
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
14813339
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1177/0306312704046600