PO225 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: William Golding, Postpositivism, Unfree Labour
Document Summary
Methods community of blind man hears that an elephant is coming three men go to find knowledge on this elephant one touches leg one touches ear and one touches the tusk. The man that described the leg says its a pillar that rough and soft. Second says its like a post that isn"t smooth third says that is is more like leather. A theory is some kind of simplifying device that allows you to decide which facts matter and which do not (baylis, smith and owen p. 3) No one sees the world just "as it is". All of us look at the world through a veil of theories, presuppositions and assumptions. In this sense, observation and interpretation are inextricably bound together; when we look at the world we are also engaged in imposing meaning on it. This is why theory is important: it gives shape and structure to an otherwise shapeless and confusing reality (heywood 2011, 53)