[Air-l] Definitions

[Sam Tilden]

I am doing no such thing. 
   
  The term scientist was invented (a hypothetical construct) in 1833. Prior to that all scholars were "philosophers" and people who investigated physics, chemistry etc. were "natural philosophers". That is why the terminal degree is a doctorate of philosopy. People who write about and make discourse about a subject are fundamentally different than people who are practitioners of that subject. That is unless they use the methods of rigid scholarship to investigate the basic principles of the subject.
   
  A scientist in the sense of this explanation can come from any discipline as long as the intent is to uncover basic understanding by an orderly process. 
   
  I used a definition that described science as study that is defined by orderly methods for investigation. I support any method that produces conclusions and discourse that reasonable people will find factual, illuminating, empirical, if not replicable.
   
  A person that builds a position based on an extension of historical fundamentals and demonstrates a sound basis for their leap in reasoning is to be admired.
   
  The literature searches in our publications have two major objectives. To share with others the path we took to get to the thought and the other is to falsify the claims of others or ourselves.
   
  Unsupported assertions are opinions or fiction. 
   
  Sam

Mary-Helen Ward <mhward at usyd.edu.au> wrote:
  There are many established ways of knowing and ways of thinking and 
researching that go beyond 'creative opinion', but are not science as 
most people understand it. Nancy listed some of them, but your reply 
would indicate to me that you are simply dismissing all of them 
without understanding what they add to the sum of human 
understanding. They may seem to be 'creative opinion', but they can 
in fact be rigorous methods of investigation.

I would suggest that you get hold of a copy of an edition of the 
Handbook of Qualitative Research (Denzin & Lincoln) or some other 
'bible' of qualitative inquiry. It will take you a while to work 
through it (I'm still dipping into it a year after I first got my 
second-hand copy from Amazon) but even the early chapters will help 
to understand some of the issues you profess to be confused about.

M-H


On 19/10/2006, at 5:30 AM, Sam Tilden wrote:

> Nancy,
>
> Could you help me here.
>
> Given your argument, I find it hard to determine what might be 
> "off topic", if it is something that occurs on the internet.
>
> I also can't seem to grasp the boundary between creative opinion 
> and scholarship.
>
> Also, where does an elementalist definition of the Internet 
> square with the goals of the organization?
>
> Pax electronica.
>
> Sam
>

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