Replying to LO26425 --
Dear DP
Thank you for your thought prolonging reply.
With scientific dogma I don't mean dogma within the body of scientific
knowledge. Whether such inherent dogma inhibit or promote scientific
development depend on their role. They inhibit whereever they impair
essentials for development. But as a source of entropic forces they may
play an important role on the path which will finally lead to their
creative collapse. Here, the body of scientific knowledge would form the
system (the 'us') which will grow by applying the scientific method
('looking at the environment'). So I take this not as a flip side but as a
positive example of how the scientific method should be applied.
Now imagine a consultant, who wants to apply his superior knowledge in
order to improve organizations devoted to grow the body of scientific
knowledge (lets say universities for short). We have had attempts of this
kind on this list too. For example he may want to clear universities from
near-dogmatic pursuing of ideas ;-) for heaven knows what reason ;-)). If
his intent is to generously share his wisdom in order to improve a system
outside himself, maybe feeling slightly insulted if such help is not taken
with the gratitude he rightfully would have expected, in other words, if
his intent is NOT to probe his knowledge in a carefully designed
experiment so that his own system of knowledge can grow as an outcome,
THEN I would say that this poor man has fallen is the trap I called
'scientific dogma'. Other names for what I am trying to say are welcome.
(How come that this very long sentence in the last paragraph reminds me of
my role as a parent of my children? Guess there is some 'parential dogma'
at work as well...)
Liebe Gruesse,
Winfried
> There is also a flip side to this. Much of scientific development also
> seems to have resulted from near-dogmatic pursuing of ideas and models by
> their key propounders...
--KiWiDressler@t-online.de (Winfried und Kirstin Dressler)
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <Richard@Karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>
"Learning-org" and the format of our message identifiers (LO1234, etc.) are trademarks of Richard Karash.