Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 09:22:20 +0100
From: Colin Wight <Colin.Wight-AT-aber.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: BHA: magic and science


Hi Nicola,

You have a disconcerting nack of dragging me out of my lurking status. Well
done.

Anyway, you argue:

 The effects on the
>people of Hiroshima were devastating - whether you believe in the formula
>or not.  On this point, I agree with Collin completely.  Indeed, the only
>difference between myself and Colin is that he find's the 'outcomes' of
>science meaningful in isolation from the practices and imaginative acts of
>science.  

What do you mean I find them meaningful? I find them effective, as do you.
You seem to suggest (if I have understood you correctly) that I might
believe in the possibility of a scientific output emerging without any
practicising scientists. Well this is not my position at all, and to
reiterate, you cannot impute from my postings any general conclusions (let
me just throw Foucault in here) from an argument that revolved around
science v witchcraft. If you agree about the hiroshima example, then we
simply agree. Now in relation to witches we have no comparable evidence
that a group of people practising X have been able to effect such an event
on a group of people "UNLESS" those people already believe in some way in
the effectivity of the X which comes as a result of the practice
(withcraft). So the effectivity of X in witchcraft is dependent upon the
beliefs of those people who would be the subject of X, not the beliefs of
the who produce X as a result of their practice (who incidentally, I
suspect know only too well that X is fairly ineffectual without the belief
that it works - after all its the social relations within which they are
embedded that they are keen to maintain).

Anyway, thanks for the replies.

Cheers,


------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Colin Wight
Department of International Politics
University of Wales
Aberystwyth
telephone: +44 (0)1970-621769
fax      : +44 (0)1970-622709
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