Power

[Wojtek Sokolowski]

Miles:
> 
> Yes, yes.  The social world is socially constructed via 
> interactions. But the social structures thus created are like 
> "ruts in the road" for subsequent social interactions--sure, 
> some carts will wander off the path, but it's sure money to 
> bet that most of the wheels will follow the ruts.  Have I 
> tortured that metaphor enough?
> 

My favored analogy is that of a dog  within an electric perimeter fence
or on a retractable leash.  The dog is free to run as he pleases within
the area encricled by the leash or the fence, but that area varies as
the owner releases or retracts the leash.  The dog can even "negotiate"
the length of the leash so some extent by interacting with the owner or
may even break loose through the fence (as my friend's dog did)
disregarding the negative feedback received in the form of
electroshocks.  But in each of the cases, the dog's behavior is a
function of constraints and freedom within those constraints, both being
determined by situation and interaction in that situation.

In that light, the debate of free will versus determinism is that
between an optimist and a pessimist about the volume of liquid in the
proverbial bottle.

Wojtek