From: L-Soft list server at St. John's University (1.8c) To: Ian Pitchford Subject: File: "SCI-CULT LOG9610" Date: Sunday, September 27, 1998 12:24 PM ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Oct 1996 15:14:42 +0100 Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: Donato Ottolenghi Subject: Re: Rudgley's Essential Substances (fairly long posting) At 10.15 24/09/96 -0700, you wrote: >[WARNING: FAIRLY LONG AND SCATTERED POSTING] > >On Tue, 17 Sep 1996, Elizabeth A. Ten Dyke wrote: > >> What do you think of Richard Rudgley's book _Essential Substances_? > >I've skimmed it, decided I wasn't impressed, but I haven't fully >read it (just by itself, this tells you something, since I'm a bit of a >bookworm). > >Anyone who talks about the "drive to alter consciousness" loses points >in my book. I think there is some truth behind this idea but it minimizes >or ignores the importance of social and historical factors. >Psychoactive substance use is a meaningful activity. I'd like to see more >sophisticated discussion of this. As an easy example, people who use >speed to stay up and study may be seeking different aspects of the 'high' >and may have less of a chance of developing drug dependence than those who >use it recreationally. Perhaps both groups share some 'drive to alter >their consciousness,' but that's not a very useful observation. >People talking about altered states of consciousness should be >careful to discuss the psychoactive properties of food, the economics >and historical significance of drug trade, the symbolic and ritualistic >aspects of drug use in constructing social identity, and similar topics. >If they don't, they risk making psychoactive substances seem like some >sort of anomalous behavior which needs to be explained by a "fundamental >drive." > I roughly agree. But I am very doubtful in thinking that people taking psychoactive drugs are aware of all that. Talking about consciousness, many people were "enthousiastic" on Castaneda's experiences... and end up on addiction. I don't know Rudgley nor Ronald Siegel, but I know very well that in every culture you find drug use (ritual or traditional), you NEVER find that use is allowed for personal (recreational or other) purposes. I cannot say anymore on PCP, for its use in my country (Italy) is practically null, compared with heroin or cocaine. Regards, > >Matthew Baggott, mbagg@itsa.ucsf.edu >Research Associate, Drug Dependence Research Center >University of California, San Francisco >Lab Home Page: http://itsa.ucsf.edu/~ddrc > Donato Ottolenghi Milano, Italia aneb8@micronet.it ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Oct 1996 12:35:23 -0400 Reply-To: etendyke@email.gc.cuny.edu Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: etendyke@EMAIL.GC.CUNY.EDU Subject: Re: Rudgley's Essential Substances (fairly long posting) In-Reply-To: <01IA8NAPGTEA000BDV@GAUDI.GC.CUNY.EDU> To Matthew Baggott as well as other members of the list--Thank you Matthew for your reply to my query and other comments. I wish to write a longer response and will do so in the next few days. A project deadline has been consuming all my time and energy but I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel... Liz Ten Dyke The Graduate School CUNY and Hunter College etendyke@email.gc.cuny.edu ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 4 Oct 1996 10:59:35 -0700 Reply-To: Matthew Baggott Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: Matthew Baggott Subject: Re: Rudgley's Essential Substances (fairly long posting) In-Reply-To: <199610041313.GAA21918@itssrv1.ucsf.EDU> On Fri, 4 Oct 1996, Donato Ottolenghi wrote: > At 10.15 24/09/96 -0700, you [Matthew Baggott] wrote: > >sophisticated discussion of this. As an easy example, people who use > >speed to stay up and study may be seeking different aspects of the 'high' > >and may have less of a chance of developing drug dependence than those who > >use it recreationally. Perhaps both groups share some 'drive to alter > >their consciousness,' but that's not a very useful observation. > >People talking about altered states of consciousness should be > >careful to discuss the psychoactive properties of food, the economics > >and historical significance of drug trade, the symbolic and ritualistic > >aspects of drug use in constructing social identity, and similar topics. > >If they don't, they risk making psychoactive substances seem like some > >sort of anomalous behavior which needs to be explained by a "fundamental > >drive." > > > I roughly agree. > But I am very doubtful in thinking that people taking psychoactive drugs are > aware of all that. Talking about consciousness, many people were > "enthousiastic" on Castaneda's experiences... and end up on addiction. I readily agree that people aren't always aware of the 'larger contexts' of drug consumption. As for Castaneda and addiction, I'm not certain I see any close connection. Although I haven't looked at the books (long ago debunked as fiction, btw) in ages, I don't recall him describing any drugs which have high addictive potential or have ever presented significant social problems. My memory is that the drugs were things like mescaline (in peyote) and some parasympatholytics (perhaps datura or brugmansia?). I may be forgetting mentions of marijuana or tobacco, which are more socially significant. Castaneda certainly depicts psychoactives in a generally positive light (albeit one respectful of their dangers --one gets the impression that they aren't necessary safe, but they are worthwhile). Still, his books were just a few best-sellers among many other media depictions of psychoactives. While a credible account of modern drug addiction _might_ mention his books, they would, at best, warrant a footnote. If we are to take Castaneda to task for something, his anthropological fraud seems to me far more serious than his contributions to the problem of addiction. (I feel the same way about the similar fictions of Bruce Lamb and Manuel Cordova-Rios.) > I don't know Rudgley nor Ronald Siegel, but I know very well that in every > culture you find drug use (ritual or traditional), you NEVER find that use > is allowed for personal (recreational or other) purposes. Three words: alcohol; caffeine; nicotine. Not to mention psychoactive substances found in everyday foods. For example, peptic digestion of bovine casein (a major protein in milk) produces a whole range of psychoactive 'exorphins' (as opposed to 'endorphins'). Thus, milk is apparently metabolized into addictive opiates (among other things). Compounds which bind to the receptor where THC (found in marijuana) acts were recently found in chocolate. Whether these substances are present in high enough doses to have measurable psychoactive activity is unclear, but these findings highlight how unstable the food-drug distinction really is. Not to mention self-medication. Decongestants, antihistamines, and sleeping pills all come readily to mind and have obvious psychoactive effects. Every culture regulates consumption of substances. Psychoactives are no exception. However, the relationship between the amount of regulation a society applies to a given psychoactive and its actual characteristics is exceedingly complex. > Donato Ottolenghi > Milano, Italia > aneb8@micronet.it > Matthew Baggott, mbagg@itsa.ucsf.edu Research Associate, Drug Dependence Research Center University of California, San Francisco Lab Home Page: http://itsa.ucsf.edu/~ddrc ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 10:45:03 BST Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: Richard Hull Organization: Manchester University and UMIST Subject: Re: Requsest of information Dear Hak-Soo, You wrote this to Sci-Cult some time ago: > I am a scholar teaching science communication and doing research on it in > Seoul, Korea. I am currently interested in "scientific culture at home and > the workplace (especially white collar work)," which dominates most of our > daily life. Therefore, I would greatly appreciate your kind assistance if > you send me information of some research literature, whatever such > scientific culture is conceptualized in, discussed and/or quantified. My > addresses are: Try Young-Hee Lee, Senior Researcher at STEPI (Science & Technology Policy Instuitute), Address: 130-650 PO Box 255, CHEONGRYANG Seoul. email lyohee@stepimail.stepi.re.kr He was here with us for a year and has just returned. I'm sure he would be interested to talk with you. Regards, Richard _____________________________________________________________________ Richard Hull CROMTEC (Centre for Research on Organisations, Management & Technical Change) Manchester School of Management, UMIST PO Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, UK Tel: +44 (0)161 200 3401 Fax: +44 (0)161 200 3622 email: Richard.Hull@umist.ac.uk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 01:52:09 +0100 Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: Donato Ottolenghi Subject: Re: Rudgley's Essential Substances (fairly long posting) [apologies to delay on reply, due to overwork] At 10.59 04/10/96 -0700, you wrote: >On Fri, 4 Oct 1996, Donato Ottolenghi wrote: > >> At 10.15 24/09/96 -0700, you [Matthew Baggott] wrote: ---- snip > >> I roughly agree. >> But I am very doubtful in thinking that people taking psychoactive drugs are >> aware of all that. Talking about consciousness, many people were >> "enthousiastic" on Castaneda's experiences... and end up on addiction. > >I readily agree that people aren't always aware of the 'larger contexts' >of drug consumption. > >As for Castaneda and addiction, I'm not certain I see any close >connection. Although I haven't looked at the books (long ago debunked >as fiction, btw) in ages, I don't recall him describing any drugs which >have high addictive potential or have ever presented significant social >problems. My memory is that the drugs were things like mescaline (in >peyote) and some parasympatholytics (perhaps datura or brugmansia?). I >may be forgetting mentions of marijuana or tobacco, which are more >socially significant. > >Castaneda certainly depicts psychoactives in a generally positive light >(albeit one respectful of their dangers --one gets the impression that >they aren't necessary safe, but they are worthwhile). Still, his books >were just a few best-sellers among many other media depictions of >psychoactives. While a credible account of modern drug addiction _might_ >mention his books, they would, at best, warrant a footnote. > >If we are to take Castaneda to task for something, his anthropological >fraud seems to me far more serious than his contributions to the problem >of addiction. (I feel the same way about the similar fictions of Bruce >Lamb and Manuel Cordova-Rios.) > I was no clear. I don't attribute to Castaneda (of course) any DIRECT responsibility to anyone's drug addiction. On the other hand, it's not only a matter of addictive potential. I think that: 1) The peculiar environment in which appeared Castaneda's books (early '70s) was prone to lead young people to specific psychedelic drugs in order to obtain more "consciousness". Althogh cited drugs (peyote and hallucinogenic mushrooms) are not addictive, an individual use of them in most cases get people to frustrate their hopes, reverting them to more dangerous drugs. Perhaps, nowadays such a phaenomenon is less likely to happen, for the widespread of other collective trends (e.g. "New Age") that are based on an inner experience. 2) I read plenty of literature related to Castaneda's fraud. Some of them pointed out the anthropological mismatches (as you say), some other the pharmacological ones. No one considered the author's point of view, of being those books a fiction romance. But I think that under all that one must reflect on the consequences of presenting traditional symbolic material (see correspondances with Eliade, Kerenyi, etc.) in a so simplifying way. 3) As a consequence, many people still believe they are able to obtain "illumination" by considering others as a mass of luminescent cells, making this easier by assuming some amanita muscaria or datura sativa. It's not a fantasy of mine, three days ago a patient (I'm psychiatrist) told me so. Sure, he was a borderline patient, but where is the edge of his impending psychosis faced with an assertion of reality "tout-court" of experiences like Castaneda's one, stated by people he met? >> I don't know Rudgley nor Ronald Siegel, but I know very well that in every >> culture you find drug use (ritual or traditional), you NEVER find that use >> is allowed for personal (recreational or other) purposes. > >Three words: alcohol; caffeine; nicotine. > Another clarifying needed. I meant that in cultures in which you have ritual drug use (like shamanic cultures) you are not allowed to use same drugs for personal purposes. If you do so, you violate a taboo, that ends in 2 different ways: either you conquest the status of shaman yourself (and then you are forced to follow initiation), or you are at risk for your life (if only "choice" initiation is allowed). More closely to us, alcohol, caffeine and nicotine were "social" drugs, which function was to promote social relations and/or relieve pain (mostly this last), in that similar to hashish for arabian culture, or coca leaves for andine populations, etc. Eventually, only little of alcohol, caffeine and nicotine consumers are strictly "recreational": you see how tobacco cigarettes are everything but a recreation (otherwise, their use would dramatically down). Finally, the ethic thought of society towards such "legal" drugs is somehow ambiguous, rolling up from prohibitionism (we assist to that in this days) to liberalisation. We are not at all free, IMHO, from ancient taboo... isn't it? >Not to mention psychoactive substances found in everyday foods. For >example, peptic digestion of bovine casein (a major protein in milk) >produces a whole range of psychoactive 'exorphins' (as opposed to >'endorphins'). Thus, milk is apparently metabolized into addictive >opiates (among other things). Compounds which bind to the receptor where >THC (found in marijuana) acts were recently found in chocolate. Whether >these substances are present in high enough doses to have measurable >psychoactive activity is unclear, but these findings highlight how >unstable the food-drug distinction really is. > >Not to mention self-medication. Decongestants, antihistamines, >and sleeping pills all come readily to mind and have obvious >psychoactive effects. > >Every culture regulates consumption of substances. Psychoactives are no >exception. However, the relationship between the amount of regulation a >society applies to a given psychoactive and its actual characteristics >is exceedingly complex. > >Matthew Baggott, mbagg@itsa.ucsf.edu >Research Associate, Drug Dependence Research Center >University of California, San Francisco >Lab Home Page: http://itsa.ucsf.edu/~ddrc > > I find your last considerations very interesting, especially those on "exorphins". They could be a subject of discussion in this list. For instance, how do you think about a possible relation between "psychoactive foods" (not only trivial chocolate triptophane) and, say, eating disorders? Best regards, Donato Ottolenghi Milano, Italia aneb8@micronet.it ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 10 Oct 1996 04:47:13 -0400 Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: Robert Maxwell Young Subject: New list for author-publishers (please forward) X-To: Psa-public-sphere@sheffield.ac.uk, HRAJ@sjuvm.stjohns.edu X-cc: h.g.davies@sheffield.ac.uk **** P l e a s e f o r w a r d this notice to other lists! The Philopsychy Society is pleased to announce the formation of a new discussion list: G L O B A L A U T H O R - P U B L I S H E R S L I S T G A P - L is a forum for the open discussion of any issues relating to what is commonly known as "self-publishing". The list is intended mainly to serve as a support group for scholars or scholarly-minded nonacademics who have published their own book(s), or are considering the possibility of doing so. 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Members are encouraged to see the list as an opportunity to assist other author-publishers, as well as to be helped in one's own publishing pursuits. A n o t h e r p u r p o s e of GAP-L is to provide members with information about the many internet resources for author-publishers. A number of web pages and links have already been set up for this purpose. They can best be accessed from a page called "Web-Assisted Self- Publishing", located at: http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/WASP.html. T h e P h i l o p s y c h y S o c i e t y welcomes all who join GAP-L to consider joining this non-profit, internet-based Society as well. Membership is completely free, though GAP-L participants are not required to join. A detailed description of the Society can be viewed at: http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/ppp/PPS.html To join the Society, simply complete the "Member's Profile" form located at: http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~ppp/ppp/PPSform.html. M o r e g e n e r a l topics in philosophy and psychology, or "soul-loving" approaches to any scholarly disciplines, are discussed on the Society's other discussion list, called "PPS-L" (Philopsychy Society List). This list can be joined by sending the message "subscribe PPS-L" to: majordomo@listserver.hkbu.edu.hk F u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n about the Philopsychy Society, GAP-L or PPS-L can also be obtained by sending an e-mail inquiry to ppp@hkbu.edu.hk or by contacting the Society's founder, Dr. Stephen Palmquist, at stevepq@hkbu.edu.hk. **** P l e a s e f o r w a r d this notice to other lists! **** __________________________________________ Robert Maxwell Young: robert@rmy1.demon.co.uk 26 Freegrove Rd., London N7 9RQ, Eng. tel.+44 171 607 8306 fax.+44 171 609 4837 Professor of Psychotherapy and Psychoanalytic Studies, Centre for Psychotherapeutic Studies, University of Sheffield. Home page and writings: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~psysc/ Process Press publications: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~psysc/process_press/index.html 'One must imagine Sisyphus happy.' - Camus ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 10 Oct 1996 12:40:59 +0100 Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: Karin Hansson Subject: anonymous opinions X-cc: aasa@nada.kth.se Hello! I am sorry I haven't introduced myself earlier. I have followed the discussion on this list with a great interest, but haven't hade time enought to translate my own reflexions into an internationally more comprehensible dialect;) My name is Karin Hansson I am a Swedish artist with an interest in Internet related things like the debate about censorship. I am now coordinating an art project where scandinavian artists works with the web as forum and tool for expression ("http://sunsite.kth.se/art"). The project is not primarily an attempt to make art with new technology. It is rather a way of developing new ideas with the exhibition as a public space for an ongoing social discussion. The artists get practical possibilities to explore the new media with the help from companies in the information technology field. Beside this I am involved in the planing of ICE(interactive creative enviroments) - an interdiciplinary project at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Now I am writing a paper for The Swedish Agency for Administrative Development, the subject is "The government as a base in the creation of the public sphere" - about Internet and democracy. I now wonder If someone has got any comments on this or pointers to good sources. In the paper I will bring up examples from "community networks" and public discussions on the Internet in general, and put them in the context of the Swedish model of democracy. This new interactive media has got a large potential. The possibilities for the citizens to - like in for example "Vote Smart Web" (http://www.vote-smart.org/) - directly control what their representatives are doing without the filter of "professional" media, is great. On the other hand, peoples' own habits and opinions are possible to control in a very effective way that earlier hasn't been possible. This is rather scary. If we want to improve democracy by giving peoples' engagement and opinions a more direct impact (news groups, opinion polls, etc.) we have to solve the juridical and technical problems and find methods that prevent the information from being misused. Otherwise even the best intention from the state will fail. With this as background I want to look at the possibilities of using the net as a method to reach consensus, as well as more "direct" forms of democracy. How can we solve the basic problem: To give people the possibility to search information and express their opinion, without the risk of being registered? Are there any good examples on the net? How can we use "anonymous remailers"? Can my opinion "count" in a debate if I am anonymous? Are there any experiences documented from such discussions? (On the net, or in other contexts.) So, if anyone has comments on this or pointers to good sources, I would be grateful. Thanks for your attention! Kind regards, Karin Hansson -----------------------------------------------------------------------k www.it.kth.se/~karin +46-8-6509908 Fleminggatan 73, 112 33 Stockholm, Sweden ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 11 Oct 1996 15:51:47 -0400 Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: etendyke@EMAIL.GC.CUNY.EDU Subject: Re: Rudgley's Essential Substances (fairly long posting) X-To: Matthew Baggott In-Reply-To: <01I9UX6982PU006U0A@GAUDI.GC.CUNY.EDU> Sorry it took me forever to respond. Thank you Matthew Baggott for your comments and the suggestions for further reading. I agree with many of your points, particularly the importance of situating not only consumption in socio-historical-cultural context but also exploring the cultural/political processes through which substances are categorized as "drugs" vs. "food" vs. "food supplements" vs. "sacred substances." In defense of the book, however, I think that Rudgley does, to a great extent, address these issues. In his introduction he writes: "In this book details of the botanical and the chemical nature of intoxicating plants, such as their geographical distribution, scientific and local names and psychoactive constituents, are considered in relation to the cultural aspects of preparation and consumption. These in turn are set in the wider social context in which they take place. Political , legal, economic, religious and ceremonial life all shape the way in which intoxicants are used. Special attention is given to their relationship with the art and technology of the societies in question." (Richard Rudgley, _Essential Substances: A Cultural History of Intoxicants in Society_, New York: Kodansha International, 1993, p. 5). He does open his introduction with the sweeping and unreflective statement to which you objected, that humans have a "universal need for liberation" which is satisfied in part by experiencing "altered states of consciousness." I agree that he would have done himself a considerable favor by opening instead with a statement which better introduces what seems to be the goal of the text, that is to present evidence that makes a strong case for variability and heterogeneity in the use of mind and mood altering substances, rather than a case for human "universalism." As I really know very little about the Haoma/Soma controversy I can only take your evaluation of his discussion at face value, namely that it is "just OK." I am in a better position to evaluate other portions of the book, for example Chapter Five "The Alchemists of Afek." After tracking down some of his source material and following up on other references I can say that his description of the initiation rituals of the (Papua New Guinea) Bimin-Kuskusmin is curiously partial, in that he does not include any discussion of the clan organization of Bimin-Kuskusmin society which does seem to strongly influence the 12 step "program" of initiation men go through in the course of their lives. In addition, he makes brief references to an androgynous mythical ancestor "Afek" without detailing any of the very overtly sexual, ritual practices that accompany the consumption of psychoactive substances during the rituals, practices which communicate, through symbolic action, a history of the universe, of the origins of the Bimin-Kuskusmin people, the origins of the flora and fauna on which these people depend for physical and cultural survival, or the connections of these to the actions of Afek in a primordial, mythical time. So, in sum, I did find the book very useful in class in that it facilitated discussion of a lot of different issues (starting with methodology--drawing inferences from data, etc.). On the other hand he attempts to cover so much ground in the (relatively brief) book that it is necessary to supplement sections with lectures and additional reading. Finally, in certain cases he seems to cover the factual and conceptual territory so thinly perhaps it would be better to turn to the original sources instead. Liz Ten Dyke Department of Anthropology The Graduate School CUNY and Hunter College New York City etendyke@email.gc.cuny.edu On Tue, 24 Sep 1996, Matthew Baggott wrote: > [WARNING: FAIRLY LONG AND SCATTERED POSTING] > > On Tue, 17 Sep 1996, Elizabeth A. Ten Dyke wrote: > > > What do you think of Richard Rudgley's book _Essential Substances_? > > I've skimmed it, decided I wasn't impressed, but I haven't fully > read it (just by itself, this tells you something, since I'm a bit of a > bookworm). > > Anyone who talks about the "drive to alter consciousness" loses points > in my book. I think there is some truth behind this idea but it minimizes > or ignores the importance of social and historical factors. > Psychoactive substance use is a meaningful activity. I'd like to see more > sophisticated discussion of this. As an easy example, people who use > speed to stay up and study may be seeking different aspects of the 'high' > and may have less of a chance of developing drug dependence than those who > use it recreationally. Perhaps both groups share some 'drive to alter > their consciousness,' but that's not a very useful observation. > People talking about altered states of consciousness should be > careful to discuss the psychoactive properties of food, the economics > and historical significance of drug trade, the symbolic and ritualistic > aspects of drug use in constructing social identity, and similar topics. > If they don't, they risk making psychoactive substances seem like some > sort of anomalous behavior which needs to be explained by a "fundamental > drive." > > Rudgley's discussion of the haoma/soma dispute is just ok, for balance > I would read the relevant passages in J. Ott's "Pharmacotheon." > > I was particularly disappointed by Rudgley's description of "a > fairly typical example of the behavior of PCP users" (which he took > from Ronald Siegel). It may be a typical example of a "violent > disoriented PCP user who attracts police attention," but I doubt it > is a typical example of a user. I have serious problems with > Ron Siegel's writings in which he mixes colorful anecdotes with > reasonable statements. He rarely provides references for his claims > and sometimes seems to select unrepresentative anecdotes based on > their entertainment value. With respect to PCP, a 1991 report to Congress > summarized it like this: > > >There are reports of increased agressiveness and "super-human > >strength" that develop in some people who take phencyclidine. > >Recent studies, including those of men arrested for criminal > >activity in Washington D.C. and New York City (Wish 1986) and evaluations > >of published clinical reports of phencyclidine intoxication > >(Brecher et al. 1988), indicate that if phencyclidine induces violent, > >criminal behavior, it does so only extremely infrequently. > > >Although Wish (1986) noted that most men who had urines positive > >for phencyclidine were younger than those who had taken no drugs > >or other drugs, their crimes were more likely to be less aggressive > >than the crimes of those who had not taken phencyclidine. Khajawall et > >al. (1982) found no difference in the behavior of clients admitted > >for phencyclidine detoxification and those admitted for opioid > >detoxification. Thus, phencyclidine-induced aggression appears to > >be a rare phenomenon, if it occurs at all. > > >(from "Drug Abuse and Drug Abuse Research: The third triennial > >report to congress from the Scretary, Dept. of Health and Human > >Services, 1991). > > >REFS CITED IN QUOTE: > >Brecher, M; Wang, BW; Wong, H; and Morgan, JP (1988) "Phencyclidine > >and violence: clinical and legal issues" _J Clin Psychopharmacology_ 8: > >397-401. > >Khajawall, AM; Erickson, TB; and Simpson GM (1982) "Chronic Phencyclidine > >abuse and physical assault" _Am J Psychiatry_ 139:1604-1606. > >Wish, ED (1986) "PCP and crime: just another illicit drug?" _NIDA > >Monograph_ 64:174-189. > > (There is probably be more truth to reports of episodes of psychosis after > PCP use in a small percentage of people. A similar phenomenon occurs > with methamphetamine. This is not well understood.) > > I sometimes get real tired of the traditional-balanced vs. > modern-dangerous drug use dichotomy. > > Although I don't have the ref handy, there is some literature on > the role of media hysteria in spreading the practice of glue sniffing. > Any account of contemporary drug use would do well to mention > media studies, such as Reeves and Campbell's _Cracked Coverage: > television news, the anti-cocaine crusade, and the Reagan legacy_. > > Two recent books also cover some of the same ground as _Essential > Substances_, sometimes with more sophistication. _Consuming Habits: > Drugs in history and anthropology_ (Jordan Goodman, Paul Lovejoy, and > Andrew Sherratt, eds) has some nice work, especially by Goodman and > Sherratt. Although I don't like it as much, _Drugs and Narcotics in > History_ (Roy Porter and Mikulas Teich, eds) has its moments too. > > While he sometimes makes fascinating claims without fully arguing for > them, I think Wolfgang Schivelbusch's _Tastes of Paradise: a social > history of spices, stimulants, and intoxicants_ (New York: NY, Vintage > Books, 1993) is a real gem. It is focused on European use beginning > in medieval times. I liked his integration of 'spice' and 'drug' use > and his use of paintings and images (often overlooked sources of data) > to illuminate the social understanding and roles of drugs. Plus, it's > a blast to read. > > Perhaps these other books could be used as supplemental reading for > your class. > > Matthew Baggott, mbagg@itsa.ucsf.edu > Research Associate, Drug Dependence Research Center > University of California, San Francisco > Lab Home Page: http://itsa.ucsf.edu/~ddrc > ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 14 Oct 1996 05:56:08 -0400 Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: Robert Maxwell Young Subject: marxism-general: info sheet To subscribe to the list described below, send the message subscribe marxism-general to majordomo@lists.village.virginia.edu ----------- This is the marxism-general list info sheet. Contents: 1 Non-Moderation Policy and General Info 2 Technical Info and Contact Person 3 Archives and Other Electronic Resources ---------------------------------------------- 1 -Non-Moderation Policy and General Info- MARXISM-GENERAL is brought to you by the Spoon Collective, a group of Net citizens devoted to free and open discussion of philosophical issues on the Internet. This particular list is designed to fill a need in marxism space for a list that offers absolute openness to its subscribers. All posts are distributed to the list without the contents being reviewed or approved by anyone, no subject is out of bounds, there is no editor or moderator, and there is no formal policy for expulsion. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT POSTS CONTAINING LANGUAGE OR DEALING WITH SUBJECT MATTER THAT SOME MIGHT FIND OFFENSIVE OR SLANDEROUS MAY APPEAR ON THE LIST FROM TIME TO TIME. SUCH POSTS WILL NOT BE CENSORED. THEY ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AUTHOR AND NOT OF THE SPOON COLLECTIVE. ALL POSTS WILL BE ARCHIVED AND THE ARCHIVES ARE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE. This policy is intended to allow creative and critical thought. The marxism-general list aims at making a contribution to progressive struggles under the motto: more knowledge is better than less, more information is better than less, and diverse view points are welcome. The Left does not have to be afraid of the truth, not even the truth about itself. However those who want a higher signal-to-noise ratio or those who want an introduction to marxism may prefer to subscribe to one of the several moderated lists instead: marxism-international, marxism-and-sciences, marxism-intro, etc. The responsibility for the quality of the list discussion does not lie with a group of moderators but with all list members. If you are dissatisfied with the discussion on the list, you have a powerful means at your hands to change this state of affairs: by posting your own contributions. Individual postings can make a lot of difference. The list's committment to openness may be formulated as follows: the list rules do not contain any impediments for opennenss. The responsibility whether such openness will in fact be achieved however lies with the list members alone. Even a formally open list may be quite restrictive and build up strong informal structures of domination. It is the responsibility of the members to prevent illegitimate authority. The list is also not totally open in the following respect. Some people have more time to post and read, some people are constrained by slow computers, bad connections, a lack of free time, low income, and exorbitant charges for their access to the internet. Again this requires responsibility on part of the list members. Please keep this in mind and post only things which are worth while for these readers. Regarding the Digest: Marxism-general is expected to be a HIGH VOLUME list. If you do not want to be distracted by 40-90 separate posts per day, you may subscribe to the digest form of marxism-general. Whether in digest form or straight, you may regard the list as a newspaper, and read only the columns/threads that interest you. At the top of each digest (about 40K in length) there is a table of contents, with the subject line and author of each post. This assists one in reading selectively. Because of the high volume, the digest does not take long to fill up and be automatically sent out. The 'delay' in receiving messages should only be a few hours. ----------------------------------------------- 2 -Technical Info and Contact Person- To post a message to the list, address it to marxism-general@jefferson.village.virginia.edu To sub, unsub or otherwise command Majordomo [the software] to do something for you, you must address your command to majordomo@jefferson.village.virginia.edu The body of the message must contain only the command, subject line is irrelevant. Basic commands that you will need: subscribe marxism-general unsubscribe marxism-general subscribe marxism-general-digest unsubscribe marxism-general-digest [Notice that marxism-general and marxism-general-digest are treated as separate lists, but only for purposes of un/subbing. It is possible to be subbed to _both_ lists.] To get a current copy of this info sheet, or that of any other Spoons list: info marxism-general info marxism-general-digest info listname To get a list of subscribers you will need to enter the two commands who marxism-general who marxism-general-digest To get a list of Spoons lists: lists [Other spoon lists include: third-world-women, deleuze-guattari, avant-garde, frankfurt- school, film-theory, fiction-of-philosophy, bhaskar, cybermind, french-feminism, nietzsche... and, above all, an expanding spectrum of marxism lists.] If you have questions that are not part of the onlist discussion itself, or if the list experiences technical difficulties, please email to the technical facilitator [not editor or moderator] Hans Ehrbar ehrbar@econ.utah.edu ----------------------------------------------- 3 -Archives and other Left Resources Posts to marxism-general are permanently archived, available through the WWW page of the Spoon Collective, which links to pages and archives for all the Spoon lists http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/~spoons There are several marxism related papers also available there, and archives for all other Spoon lists. These archives are also available via anonymous ftp to jefferson.village.viriginia.edu, in the directory pub/pubs/listservs/spoons/marxism-general.archive or via gopher to jefferson.village.virginia.edu, under the directories Publications of the Institute/Discussion Lists/spoons/marxism-general.archive or via e-mail by using the majordomo get command. If you sent a message to majordomo@jefferson.village.Virginia.EDU consisting of the line get marxism-general current you will get the latest postings to the list (which are asselbled in a file named "current"). Somewhat older postings can be retrieved by using the command get marxism-general recent To get a list of all archive files available, send a message consisting of the line: index marxism-general to: majordomo@jefferson.village.virginia.EDU You will get a list of files which can be retrieved by the "get" command. Here is the example of a get command which retrieves a an archive file which has messages sent out before October 19, 1996, 18:39 GMT (you will receive a mail message of about 360 Kilobytes long): get marxism-general marxism-general_1996/96-10-marxism-general/96-10-19.183 >>>> >>>> __________________________________________ Robert Maxwell Young: robert@rmy1.demon.co.uk 26 Freegrove Rd., London N7 9RQ, Eng. tel.+44 171 607 8306 fax.+44 171 609 4837 Professor of Psychotherapy and Psychoanalytic Studies, Centre for Psychotherapeutic Studies, University of Sheffield. Home page and writings: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~psysc/ Process Press publications: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~psysc/process_press/index.html 'One must imagine Sisyphus happy.' - Camus ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 14 Oct 1996 15:29:25 GMT Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: ylbumurj@SF.EHU.ES Subject: "On the Origins of Cognition" Workshop Announcement & Call Workshop Announcement & Call: IV International Workshop on Artificial Life and Artificial Intelligence: ON THE ORIGINS OF COGNITION (OC'96) Donostia, The Basque Country (Spain), 13 & 14 December, 1996 UNIVERSITY OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY (UPV/EHU) Dept. of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Dept. of Languages and Information Systems Dept. of Logic and Philosophy of Science Topics * The importance of explanations in terms of origins. * Epistemological aspects of cognition and its origins. * The relationship between life and cognition. * Evolutionary and developmental aspects of the origins of cognition. * Psychological approaches to the origins of cognition. * Complex Adaptive Systems and the origins of cognition. * Investigating the origins of cognition in artificial systems. * The relationship between the origin of cognition in natural and artificial systems . Invited Speakers Margaret Boden -- Sussex University, UK John Casti -- Santa Fe Institute, USA M. Sheets-Johnstone -- University of Oregon, USA Angel Riviere -- U. Aut=F3noma, Madrid, Spain Lynn Andrea Stein -- MIT, USA John Stewart -- U.T.C. & I. Pasteur, France G. van de Vijver -- Universiteit Gent, Belgium Official Language: English Organisation Alvaro Moreno UPV/EHU Director Tim Smithers UPV/EHU Director Blanca Cases UPV/EHU Arantza Etxeberria UPV/EHU REGISTRATION: Up to fifty (50) participants will be accepted to attend the workshop. Registration will cost 21.000 ptas., 11.000 ptas. for students. The deadline is on Monday, November 25. SUBMISSION: There will be space for up to twenty (20) POSTERS to be presented by participants.The deadline for submissions is on Monday, November 11. =46URTHER INFORMATION: POSTAL: A. Moreno (OC=B496). Apdo. 1249, 20080 Donostia-Spain E-MAIL: oricog96@sc.ehu.es =46AX: 34+43+21 93 06 (to "B. Cases-OC=B496") WWW: http://sisx04.si.ehu.es/lsi/Groups/Biziart/OC96/oc96.shtml ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 13:48:57 +0100 Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: C A Wardell Subject: new member I'm writing to say hello and introduce myself. My name is Claire Wardell and I'm a first year PhD student at Bath. My academic background is quite interdisciplinary, having included psychology, history of science and sociology of science. My research area is the public understanding of science and I am looking specifically at the role of the media in PUS. I may be focussing on television, and am particularly interested in representations of science in fictional or dramatic formats as compared to those in documentaries and news items, and how these are interpreted by viewers. I am currently exploring the phenomenon of popular science books in order to assess the viability of including this in my research. If you are involved in research which crosses through any of the above, or if you are have any knowledge of these areas I would love to hear from you. ------------------------- |Claire Wardell | |Science Studies Centre | |School of Social Sciences| |Bath University | ------------------------- ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 15:12:03 BST Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: Richard Hull Organization: Manchester University and UMIST Subject: Re: new member Clare (and SAC list), You wrote: > My research area is the public understanding of science and I am looking > specifically at the role of the media in PUS. I may be focussing on > television, and am particularly interested in representations of science > in fictional or dramatic formats as compared to those in documentaries and > news items, and how these are interpreted by viewers. I am currently > exploring the phenomenon of popular science books in order to assess the > viability of including this in my research. This is a bit off-beam, but I highly recommend , Dave & Ruth Elliott, 1976, London: Wykeham Press. This excellent book includes a nice categorisation of four distinct 'models of technocracy'. Given that much popular and even academic writing about science alludes to a single notion of 'technocracy' (as somehow defining or shaping current scientific development), this book provides a valuable alternative slant. Personally, I think it would be an essential feature of any project on PUS to bear in mind public understandings of technology and technical change. But that's just my slant on things. Regards, Richard _____________________________________________________________________ Richard Hull CROMTEC (Centre for Research on Organisations, Management & Technical Change) Manchester School of Management, UMIST PO Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, UK Tel: +44 (0)161 200 3401 Fax: +44 (0)161 200 3622 email: Richard.Hull@umist.ac.uk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1996 09:08:20 +1000 Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: Annette Gough Subject: The role of the media in PUS Claire Wardell wrote: > >My research area is the public understanding of science and I am looking >specifically at the role of the media in PUS. I may be focussing on >television, and am particularly interested in representations of science >in fictional or dramatic formats as compared to those in documentaries and >news items, and how these are interpreted by viewers. I am currently >exploring the phenomenon of popular science books in order to assess the >viability of including this in my research. Richard Hull made what he considered to be an 'off-beam' suggestion, so I will offer some others - I have found Rosslyn D. Haynes (1994) _From Faust to Strangelove: Representations of the Scientist in Western Literature_ (Johns Hopkins University Press) to be a wonderful and inspirational source for my research. Perhaps others have enjoyed it too, or would enjoy knowing about it. Another great source (related to my educational interests, but also, I believe of more general relevance) is Noel Gough's book _Laboratories in Fiction: Science Education and Popular Media_ (Deakin University Press 1993). The writings of Damien Broderick are also worth looking at (sorry, I can't bring a title to mind at the moment). Happy reading! Annette *************************** Annette Gough, PhD Senior Lecturer Faculty of Education Deakin University 662 Blackburn Road Clayton Victoria 3168 Australia Telephone (03) 9244 7197 +61 3 9244 7197 (from outside Australia) Fax (03) 9562 8808 +61 3 9562 8808 (from outside Australia) email http://www.deakin.edu.au/fac_edu/csmsee ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 04:46:21 -0400 Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: Robert Maxwell Young Subject: On-line writings plus information about distance learning programmes at Sheffield Centre for Psychotherapeutic Studies I have recently placed the following essays at my web site. http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/N-Q/psysc/staff/rmyoung/index.html They are available for reading online or downloading. Comments welcome. 'The Human Limits of Nature' 'The Naturalization of Value Systems in the Human Sciences' 'Postmodernism and thew Subject: Pessimism of the Will' 'Evolution, Biology and Psychology' 'The Moral and the Molecular in the Future of Psychiatry' The web site of the University of Sheffield Centre for Psychotherapeutic Studies contains information about all our programmes of teaching and research, curriculim vitae and writings of our staff and, in particular, details of new MA programmes **by distance learning** (as well as being taught part-time or full-time on campus from October), available from January 1997. Applications are still being accepted for the distance learning programmes. http://www.shef.ac.uk/~psysc/ 'Psychiatry, Philosophy and Society' 'Psychoanalytic Studies' 'Disability Studies' __________________________________________ Robert Maxwell Young: robert@rmy1.demon.co.uk 26 Freegrove Rd., London N7 9RQ, Eng. tel.+44 171 607 8306 fax.+44 171 609 4837 Professor of Psychotherapy and Psychoanalytic Studies, Centre for Psychotherapeutic Studies, University of Sheffield. Home page and writings: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~psysc/ Process Press publications: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~psysc/process_press/index.html 'One must imagine Sisyphus happy.' - Camus ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 04:52:43 -0400 Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: Robert Maxwell Young Subject: Non-conceptual content: Announcing a new on-line bibliography A Bibliography of Non-Conceptual Content A relatively recent notion, that of non-conceptual content, is one which philosophers and cognitive scientists have been developing with the intent of using it to help explain some hitherto recalcitrant phenomena in perception, development, connectionist learning, animal navigation, cognitive map construction, et al. A full explanation of non-conceptual content cannot be given here, but compared to traditional conceptual content, it is (very roughly): pre-linguistic, pre-objective, embodied and embedded. A bibliography of non-conceptual content is now on the web, at: http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/users/ronc/ncc-bibliography.html Although it is intended to be complete, it is still under construction, and I have, no doubt, missed several publications that should be included. Please help, by emailing all suggestions, additions, and corrections to ronc@cogs.susx.ac.uk. Particularly welcome would be (links to) online versions of the papers listed in the bibliography. Please forward this announcement to any lists or individuals you think might be interested. Apologies if you have seen this announcement more than once. Ron Chrisley School of Cognitive & Computing Sciences University of Sussex __________________________________________ Robert Maxwell Young: robert@rmy1.demon.co.uk 26 Freegrove Rd., London N7 9RQ, Eng. tel.+44 171 607 8306 fax.+44 171 609 4837 Professor of Psychotherapy and Psychoanalytic Studies, Centre for Psychotherapeutic Studies, University of Sheffield. Home page and writings: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~psysc/ Process Press publications: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~psysc/process_press/index.html 'One must imagine Sisyphus happy.' - Camus ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 17 Sep 1996 15:07:02 +0200 Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: Hobson Sherren Subject: SaC: Young's Nature, Constitution Message-ID: <323E9FE8.3E5F@sesam.it> Date: Tue, 17 Sep 1996 14:56:08 +0200 From: Hobson Sherren X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0Gold (X11; I; HP-UX A.09.05 9000/715) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: LISTSERV@SJUVM.stjohns.edu Subject: SaC: Young's Nature, Constitution Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Re: R.M. Young's recent postings; updates to his web site. 1)I see that Bob's posting to the marxism-and-sciences forum contains the following note, not present in the SaC version: <> Ironically, sadly perhaps, SaC may be more open to such a development than M-S. I used the "get science-as-culture log9511" command to re-read Lisa Rogers' first SaC postings, having read (only yesterday) of her untimely loss. I would certainly have been one of those critical of her views, if I'd been an early subscriber, but the urgent tone, and genuine "I really want to know" attitude comes across strongly, and stimulated a lot of postings that ought to be followed up, I feel. 2) Bob's comment on his now available 'Evolution, Biology and Psychology from a Marxist Point of View' concludes: > In preparing the essay I found myself re-reading writings > (some of them by me) which re-evoked the convictions which > drew so many of us to libertarian marxism. Now that > there is no place, party or subculture which identifies > itself with any version of marxism to which we could adhere, > we are believers without a locus and largely without practices > which feel congruent with these beliefs. The article is > largely historical, but the issues remain timely. I broadly agree, and would like to think that this forum could yet develop into such a "locus". Bob continues to refer to the early Lukacs, the Prison Notebooks Gramsci, and the Bukharin of "Science at the Cross Roads". The problem of Nature, Human Nature and Second Nature is crucial/central (to avoid the term "essential"!). No-one picked up on my August posting concerning Gramsci's formulation of "objective" as "universal subjective" - pazienza - but Bob makes explicit reference to a related passage, in the above essay. I'd like to see him contextualise Lukacs' famous phrase about Nature being a societal category, given that: a) Lukacs' discusses the problem, in his introduction, with the benefit of (historical) hindsight and b) Gramsci makes cautious passing references to Lukacs, while critiquing the early Bukharin ... I can't help thinking (reflexively) of Derrida's "il n'y a pas du vrai sens d'une texte ... pas d'autorite' d'auteur ...", when Lukacs seeks to justify his auto-criticism. 3) On the essay "How Societies Constitute Their Knowledge": Certainly "A labour process perspective" has to be encouraged. I believe it is "more than a metaphor", as the saying goes, to think in terms of the "constitution" of knowledge and to critique the formulation of "laws" of nature. An 18C constitution starts with the words "We hold these truths to be self-evident ..." while the ancient British model remains unwritten and based on precedent. Shall we look to the 19C ideal, "Italy is a republic founded on labour", as a (metaphorical) model for the constitution of knowledge as a labour process? In any case, let's remember that constitutions, laws - and concepts - are deeply rooted social experiences ... and that the emphasis ought to be on the adjective, when we refer to historical materialism. To end on a lighter note: Bob urges several times in "Postmodernism and the subject; pessimism of the will" to cut the crap and get on with the yarn. Bob refers to Richard Rorty's work on metaphor and narrative discourse. I remember a BBC radio interview with Rom Harre (1982?), urging us to "treat people AS IF they were people" - role playing and so on (using social models) - in contrast to the functionalist, behaviourist models. I'd be curious to know how Bob sees Harre: I've not seen him referenced. This may be a red herring. As for Shirley Goodness, the U2 and psalm 23: you'll remember the Pink Floyd's "Sheep", on Animals ... ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 09:18:21 -0700 Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: JAMES GAVETTE OR BEV BRADY Organization: BLACK PEARL COTTAGE/GREY TOWER VILLA Subject: Re: SaC: Young's Nature, Constitution Hobson Sherren wrote: > > Message-ID: <323E9FE8.3E5F@sesam.it> > Date: Tue, 17 Sep 1996 14:56:08 +0200 > From: Hobson Sherren > X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0Gold (X11; I; HP-UX A.09.05 9000/715) > MIME-Version: 1.0 > To: LISTSERV@SJUVM.stjohns.edu > Subject: SaC: Young's Nature, Constitution > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > Re: R.M. Young's recent postings; updates to his web site. > > 1)I see that Bob's posting to the marxism-and-sciences forum contains > the following note, not present in the SaC version: > > < C19 > Debate on "Man's Place in Nature"' in my _Darwin's Metaphor_ (also at > web > site) is an attempt to develop a Marxist historiography of science.>> > > Ironically, sadly perhaps, SaC may be more open to such a development > than M-S. > I used the "get science-as-culture log9511" command to re-read Lisa > Rogers' first SaC postings, having read (only yesterday) of her untimely > loss. I would certainly have been one of those critical of her views, if > I'd been an early subscriber, but the urgent tone, and genuine "I really > want to know" attitude comes across strongly, and stimulated a lot of > postings that ought to be followed up, I feel. > > 2) Bob's comment on his now available 'Evolution, Biology and Psychology > from a Marxist Point of View' concludes: > > > In preparing the essay I found myself re-reading writings > > (some of them by me) which re-evoked the convictions which > > drew so many of us to libertarian marxism. Now that > > there is no place, party or subculture which identifies > > itself with any version of marxism to which we could adhere, > > we are believers without a locus and largely without practices > > which feel congruent with these beliefs. The article is > > largely historical, but the issues remain timely. > > I broadly agree, and would like to think that this forum could yet > develop into such a "locus". > > Bob continues to refer to the early Lukacs, the Prison Notebooks > Gramsci, and the Bukharin of "Science at the Cross Roads". The problem > of Nature, Human Nature and Second Nature is crucial/central (to avoid > the term "essential"!). No-one picked up on my August posting concerning > Gramsci's formulation of "objective" as "universal subjective" - > pazienza - but Bob makes explicit reference to a related passage, in the > above essay. I'd like to see him contextualise Lukacs' famous phrase > about Nature being a societal category, given that: > a) Lukacs' discusses the problem, in his introduction, with the benefit > of (historical) hindsight and > b) Gramsci makes cautious passing references to Lukacs, while critiquing > the early Bukharin ... > I can't help thinking (reflexively) of Derrida's "il n'y a pas du vrai > sens d'une texte ... pas d'autorite' d'auteur ...", when Lukacs seeks to > justify his auto-criticism. > > 3) On the essay "How Societies Constitute Their Knowledge": > > Certainly "A labour process perspective" has to be encouraged. I believe > it is "more than a metaphor", as the saying goes, to think in terms of > the "constitution" of knowledge and to critique the formulation of > "laws" of nature. > > An 18C constitution starts with the words "We hold these truths to be > self-evident ..." while the ancient British model remains unwritten and > based on precedent. > > Shall we look to the 19C ideal, "Italy is a republic founded on labour", > as a (metaphorical) model for the constitution of knowledge as a labour > process? > > In any case, let's remember that constitutions, laws - and concepts - > are deeply rooted social experiences ... and that the emphasis ought to > be on the adjective, when we refer to historical materialism. > > To end on a lighter note: Bob urges several times in "Postmodernism and > the subject; pessimism of the will" to cut the crap and get on with the > yarn. Bob refers to Richard Rorty's work on metaphor and narrative > discourse. I remember a BBC radio interview with Rom Harre (1982?), > urging us to "treat people AS IF they were people" - role playing and so > on (using social models) - in contrast to the functionalist, > behaviourist models. I'd be curious to know how Bob sees Harre: I've not > seen him referenced. This may be a red herring. > > As for Shirley Goodness, the U2 and psalm 23: you'll remember the Pink > Floyd's "Sheep", on Animals ... Unsubscribe ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 11:16:22 -0700 Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: Aviation Conference Subject: Call for Papers CALL FOR PAPERS AVIATION COMMUNICATION: A MULTI-CULTURAL FORUM 1997 ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM APRIL 9 - 11, 1997 EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY, PRESCOTT, AZ EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY'S LANGUAGE INSTITUTE AND THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT, WITH THE CENTER FOR AEROSPACE SAFETY EDUCATION INVITES ALL INTERESTED PARTIES TO PARTICIPATE IN AN AVIATION COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE: "AVIATION COMMUNICATIONS: A MULTI-CULTURAL FORUM." THIS CONFERENCE IS INTENDED TO BE A VEHICLE FOR IDEAS AND INFORMATION TO BE EXCHANGED CONCERNING ALL ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATIONS INCLUDING LINGUISTICS, CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY. IT IS NOT REQUIRED THAT YOUR RESEARCH BE IN AVIATION; IT IS ONLY NECESSARY THAT YOUR WORK IS TRANSFERABLE TO AVIATION SITUATIONS IN COCKPITS, BETWEEN COCKPIT AND TOWER, MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS, ETC. OPTIMAL COMMUNICATION IS OFTEN PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE OF THE HUMAN-MACHINE INTERFACE, GENDER, RACE, CULTURE, AND LANGUAGE. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS CONFERENCE WILL BE AN OUTSTANDING OPPORTUNITY FOR INDUSTRY, GOVERNMENT, AND OTHER FUNDING SOURCES TO MAKE DIRECT CONTACT WITH RESEARCHERS. SOME SUGGESTED AREAS HUMAN FACTORS LANGUAGE STUDIES BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATIONS COMMUNICATION STUDIES INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE STUDIES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STUDIES RISK AND TECHNOLOGY POLITICS OF TECHNICAL DECISIONS CYBERNETIC COMMUNICATION POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY OF COMMUNICATION LANGUAGE/COMMUNICATION MODELS OF TERRORISM,INTELLIGENCE,ORGANIZED CRIME,FOREIGN POLICY, AND SECURITY GLOBALIZATION OF LANGUAGE/COMMUNICATION CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FEE IS $150. HOWEVER, EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERISITY'S "SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND GLOBILIZATION" PROGRAM WILL BE SUBSIDIZING RESEARCHERS FROM UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES. OUT-OF-POCKET FEE FOR THESE ATTENDEES WILL BE $50. THE REGISTRATION FEE WILL COVER BANQUET DINNER, LUNCHES, AND REFRESHMENTS; AS WELL AS A COPY OF THE PUBLISHED PROCEEDINGS. WE BELIEVE THAT THESE ORGANIZATIONS WOULD BENEFIT FROM THIS GATHERING: NATIONAL AIRLINES COMMUNICATION INDUSTRIES INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES ALL BRANCHES OF ARMED SERVICES INTERNATIONAL SAFETY AGENCIES LANGUAGE RELATED ORGANIZATIONS REGULATORY AGENCIES ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETIES HUMAN FACTORS AND SOCIETIES IF YOU WISH TO PRESENT A PAPER OR PROPOSE A PANEL FOR THIS CONFERENCE, PLEASE SUBMITT THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION BY JANUARY 9, 1997: - PRESENTER'S NAME, TITLE OF PAPER, ORGANIZATION, POSITION, ADDRESS - ABSTRACTS (200 WORDS) - BRIEF RESUME MAIL OR FAX TO: DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY 3200 WILLOW CREEK ROAD PRESCOTT, AZ 86301-3720 E-MAIL CONTACTS: QUIGLEY@PR.ERAU.EDU BLOOMR@PR.ERAU.EDU LUCENAJ@PR.ERAU.EDU ALSO VISIT OUR WEB SITE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND SUBSCRIPTION POSSIBILITIES AT: HTTP://WWW.PR.ERAU.EDU/PEOPLE/CASE ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 28 Oct 1996 16:30:16 -0500 Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: "David A. Wallace" [Please excuse cross postings] CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT MUSEUMS AND THE WEB MARCH 16-19, 1997 OMNI LOS ANGELES HOTEL & CENTRE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Organized by Archives & Museum Informatics (This message has two parts: Expression of Interest and Call for Papers) ------------------------------------------------------------ EXPRESSION OF INTEREST It has only been a short three years since the appearance of the first museum web sites. Today there are hundreds of museums with a presence on the World Wide Web. The nature and purpose of these sites varies greatly and we believe that museums have much to learn from each other and from developers who have been using the Web for other applications. To provide an opportunity for learning, Archives & Museum Informatics will host the FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO MUSEUMS AND THE WEB, to be held March 16-19, 1997 at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel & Centre, Los Angeles, California. If you would like to be kept informed of the program as it develops, or learn more about opportunities to exhibit or speak, please complete the form below and fax or email it to us. Name: Title: Institution: Department: Street Address: City/Postal Code/Country: Phone: Fax: E-mail: URL: Send me more information. I am interested in: Attending / / Exhibiting / / Sponsoring / / * Proposals will be selected based on their quality and attention to topics of interest to you. Tell us what you most want to know about Museums and the Web: * We will offer half and one day workshops before the conference. Tell us about topics of special interest to you and/or instructors from whom you have taken exceptionally valuable workshops in this area: * We will host continental breakfasts for groups with common interests to get together and share ideas. Tell us the types of Special Interest Groups you would be interested participating in: ------------------------------------------------------------ CALL FOR PAPERS PROPOSALS ARE BEING ACCEPTED UNTIL NOVEMBER 30, 1996 TO: - Present a paper; - Organize a session (2-4 speakers); or - Teach a workshop (1/2 or full day). PROPOSALS SHOULD INCLUDE: - The title of the proposed event and an abstract which clearly states the specific contribution it will make; - Full identification of the presenter(s), including title, institution, postal address, phone, fax, email, and URL. Proposals will be reviewed by the conference advisory committee and participants will be notified of acceptance by December 15, 1996. Accepted papers will be published (on the WWW and/or in print) and abstracts will be made available through the conference Web site in January 1997. TOPICS MAY INCLUDE, BUT ARE DEFINITELY NOT LIMITED TO: I. Applications of Web Technology - Educational Programming: K-12 Outreach on the Web. - The Museum Digital Community: Electronic Volunteers, Virtual Members, Remote Audiences. - Professional Resources on the Web: Web Peers, Virtual Support Networks, Professional Organizations, etc. - Museum Public Relations via an Institutional Web Site. - Museum Exhibitions on the Web. - Higher Education and Museums on the Web. - Income Producing Activity and the Web. - Imagebases, Multimedia, and Publishing. - The Concept of the "Museum" in the Digital Age II. Organizing for the Networked Society - Staffing, Training, and Professional Development. - Budgeting, Managing, and Maintaining a Web Presence. - Museum Intranets - Leveraging the Technology for In-house Benefits. - Consortia, National, and International Projects. - New Technologies & Opportunities for the Near Future. - Standards, Architectures, and Long-term Strategies. - Design Issues: User Interfaces, Navigational Aids, and Site Structure. - Copyright and Licensing: Protecting and Providing Museum Property. - Access & Accessibility: Resource Discovery, Metadata, and Domain Naming. SEND PROPOSALS BY NOVEMBER 30, 1996 TO: David Bearman, Conference Chair, dbear@archimuse.com or fax them to Archives & Museum Informatics at 412-683-7366 ------------------------------- David A. Wallace Archives & Museum Informatics 5501 Walnut Street, Suite 203 Pittsburgh, PA 15232-2311 USA voice: +1-412-683-9775 fax: +1-412-683-7366 email: davidw@archimuse.com URL: www.archimuse.com ------------------------------- ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 31 Oct 1996 16:11:52 MET Reply-To: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture Sender: Sci-Cult Science-as-Culture From: Rene von Schomberg Organization: Tilburg University Subject: EASST/4S: poverty of social constructivism Poverty of Social Constructivism revealed at EASST/4S Attracting more than 800 participants, the Bielefeld conferen- ce was more successful than any previous meeting of EASST/4S. It was more than just a success in quantative terms, since the organizers attracted a surplus of participants by inviting keynote speakers outside the community of STS, such as Ulrich Beck and Niklas Luhmann. To be honest to ourselves: There can hardly be any doubt that both of these keynote speakers have been more successful, both theoretically and practically, in addressing "STS" issues than anyone from within our STS-community. Ulrich Beck made fully clear that STS's social-contextualists account of risk has led to STS as being a political-sterile activity. STS begun with showing the normative assumptions within science, also in regard to the risk-issue, thereby, in potential, setting a political agenda. STS, however, moved very soon to a `reductionist' account of science; first by reducing the notion of science to be intrin- sically bound to particular interests and later by trying to show that science is intrinsically bound to social-cultural contexts or even arguing that science is a specific culture in itself. Obviously, this reductionism to interests and/or social-cultural contexts cannot account for the success of science over time in which it transcends cultural contexts. It certainly can not account for the differentiation of science as an autonomous sphere in modernity. To phrase Luhmann: for science there is "no functional equivalence". Indeed it is not possible to surpass science or reduce scientific claims to other non-scientific "types" of claims outside the scientific sphere. The "objectivist" account of risk being addressed, both by Luhmann and Beck, be it in different ways, do focus on the political problem of today: indigenous peoples of Africa or Latin America will suffer the same adverse "objective" effects of risk society: the challenge is to find a common ground to fight them. To show that "perceptions of risks were constructed in a specific cultural context", will not make "risk" a vital issue for indigenous people who use other forms of knowledge. For some constructivists it is even incorrect to believe indigenous peoples would be even effected by "modern" risk. This is not only a political sterile attitude, but also a dangerous one: the constructivist approach does not only devaluate the arguments of "western" science, it devaluates the arguments of those "counter"-experts from "within" science in the same way, thus leaving us without a arena for reason- able argumentation. For Beck, this is a sufficient reason to be realist. A remarkable number of well-attended sessions were devoted to the retrospective analysis of changes in approach over the last 20 years in STS. In line with Luhmann, but contrary to the conventional STS-bias, the discussion during a session on a retrospective of the Finalization thesis of the "Starnbergers" revealed that the internal-external distinction (science vs "society") cannot be overcome. The political- sterileness of STS causes to emerge a wish with some of us, to return to the times in which we were "relevant" for policy and for the political arena. A number of "constructivist" members of the panel, instinctively, responded to my question "how to revitalize the finalization thesis without re-introducing the internal-external distinction". by saying it was for them not an issue at all. Van den Daele, a major representative of the former "Starnberger"-group, however, pointed out correctly, that we can not reasonably argue in a fully externalist way. In assessing the projects of scientists and technologists, we need people around the table who are prepared to argue in a sincere "internalist" way. We can not deal with the problem by only addressing political, cultural or normative arguments.. someone has to argue scientifically. After 20 years of constructivist critique of science, and numerous of case- studies in journals like STHV, streamlined constructivist ideology, has not led to the elimination of language use such as "aspects" of science". It revealed shifting boundaries of science and policy but did not eliminate there mutual exis- tence. I can only conclude that the conference implicitly announced the beginning of the end of social constructivism- al be it without much scientific reasoning; it just seems to die. Who cries? What is coming next? Rene von Schomberg Tilburg University Postbox 90153 5000 LE Tilburg The Netherlands tel +31-13-4663018 fax: 31-13-4662892 email: R.vonSchomberg@kub.nl www page(case sensitive!): http://www.kub.nl:2080/FWW/EnvEthics/Intro.html