Ideology vs. Science vs. Sciencism vs. Superman vs. ...

Carrol Cox cbcox at ilstu.edu
Wed Nov 3 17:08:16 PST 1999


Lisa & Ian Murray wrote:


> Which makes an excellent case for an irreducible methodological pluralism.
> The dialectical approach works best at the organism/environment interface;
> reductionism works best at the molecular scale and anarchic pluralism works
> on the ecosystem scale.

I think we have either a non-sequitur or a triviality here. Using one method to saw firewood, another to cut bread, and a third to paint doors does not create a methodological pluralism. Different tasks, different methods.

The quarrel over reductionism is often a quarrel over what is the *appropriate* reduction for a given purpose or object of study.

Is the opening sentence of *Capital* a reduction?

Carrol



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list