Quotes

"Dialogue is mutual search for a new reality, not debate to win with stronger arguments. In a dialogue propositions are pointers toward a common new reality; not against each other to win a verbal battle, but complementing each other in an effort to accommodate legitimate goals of all parties, inspired by theories and values, and constructive-creative-concrete enough to become a causa finalis". Galtuung


"I use the concept of affect as away of talking about a margin of manouverability, the 'where we might be able to go' and 'what we might be able to do' in every present situation. I guess 'affect' is a word I use for 'hope': Massumi


"A discourse is a system of words, actions, rules, beliefs, and institutions that share common values. Particular discourses sustain particular worldviews. We might even think of a discourse as a worldview in action. Discourses tend to be invisible--taken for granted as part of the fabric of reality."Fairclough


Emergence is “the principle that entities exhibit properties which are meaningful only when attributed to the whole, not to its parts.” Checkland


"What the designer cares about is whether the user perceives that some action is possible (or in the case of perceived non-affordances, not possible)." Norman




Monday, 12 September 2011

Reproduction, Constructivism and Emergence

If we attempt to replace the structural modernist forces of reproduction with post structural constructivist language games we can, if we abandon any ideal of communicative discourse (Habermas) (perhaps assuming it is     nothing but  modernist bias) be left with closed "tactical" sets of autopoetic battling constructions  (both in terms of combinations of Austin's 'speech acts' and  iteration? / and data structures) , and battling pre-emptive symbolic representations, built around a  meta narrative of $$$ which is profitable for certain private interests, and expert groups,  but not necessarily of value to collective humanity (tragedy of the commons).  Naturally emergent factors (Massumi) (stemming from our nature as living systems (Bertanffly/Macy) (c.f open 'texts') which could help us get beyond these symbolic oppositions can be seen from a constructivist perspective as threatening the required and profitable continual reconstruction of the discursive (c.f material)forms. They can be framed (Goffman), for example as naive and simplistic,  dangerous, or irrelevant. Access to these emergent factors could be of great value from the point of view of collective humanities future (Massumi/Manning). Hence there is a need to explore if such framing is taking place and how access paths can be opened and protected from such hegemonic forces.


From the point of view of discourse,  identity/awareness flows can be  guided  into stereotyped often oppositional   subject positions/roles with their associated characteristics, the constructivist, concerned with reproduction of their assigned construction, can construct the emergent as a threat, projecting before listening (also vice versa)How do we enable and maintain space that feels safe enough for actual awareness/listening and for flow rather than pre-emption? (Re Qualitative Research)

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