Dear Fred,
Thanks for your detailed reply, it clarified some things but I still can't
grasp why you think organisations are abstractions. Eg
>The "NY Yankees" refers to an abstraction and to a very concrete set of
>individuals. When speaking of the organization, the term "NY Yankees"
>refers to an abstraction. When speaking of the current team roster, it
>refers to a very specific set of individuals.
If a person were to take legal action against the NY Yankees, the Yankees
would very soon find out the law considers both their organisations AND
the individual office-holders, as distinct from any one person, to be very
real. Depending on the alleged offence, corporate assets (those assets
legally held by the entity, not by any one member) could be vulnerable,
and office-holders fined or jailed. You can sue an abstraction, so in the
eyes of the law at least, it is very real.
As to dualism, the way I used the term it refers to the view that one
aspect of reality is more "real" than another. It derives from Ancient
Greek and other related philosophical views, that see/or saw philosophical
ideas as eternal, while the world was something of an allusion. Others
will, I am sure, give a better explanation...
And no, you do not have to justify your assertions, but its nice for all
of us if you do!
Thanks for the complements on the Churchill quote...
Philip
Philip Pogson
Leadership Development Strategy Consultant
Staff Development Branch
University of Technology Sydney NSW 2007
+61 2 9514 2934
mobile: 0412 459156
"Men stumble over the truth from time to time but most pick themselves up
and hurry off as if nothing happened."
Winston Churchill
--Philip Pogson <ppogson@uts.edu.au>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>