Date: Sat, 02 Mar 1996 12:43:34 -0800
From: Christian <harlowc@tidepool.com>
To: WSN <wsn@csf.colorado.edu>
Subject: Positive Science: Emancipatory Epistemology?
A. Austin illuminates:
>World history then becomes an unfolding
> of nature, and becomes intelligible through a rejection of all mysticism
> and ideologies, this rejection being the work of positive science, the one
> true epistemological system which will reveal the Truth of the world.
>
> Andy
Andy is this satire? Or is this, finally, your idea of how we can create an
equitable global social structure; through positive science? Positivism is
antithetical to liberation of the global contradictions that we are dealing with
here. Not to mention that over 60 percent of the funding for this type of
science is issued by the respective core government's defense depts. in order to
maintain or improve their positions in the world system, which to some degree
insures that it won't be used to create a better global future.
Positivism has been so wholly discredited as a social science that I needn't
address its methodological faults here. However, when used as a social
scientific epistemology its primary function is instrumental control of human
subjects. Not Truth, control. I hope that you haven't left yet so you can share
with us how we can use positivistic epistemology in order to avoid world war
or to free ourselves from the coporate fascistic oligarchy.
Sincerely,
Christian Harlow
UC Santa Cruz