You said
>I did not object to Jim saying he construed Kelly and Jung as
>incompatible. Actually, I was quite sympathetic to his argument. What I
>did object to was his stating that Jung and Kelly's theories ARE
>incompatible. This implied that the theories either are or are not
>compatible in an objectively true sense, rather than in Jim's way of
>construing of them. In Jim's later posting, the one in which he
>elaborated why he saw Jung and Kelly as incompatible, he elaborated his
>constructions about Jung and Kelly and his sense of their theories as
>incompatible. He made somne excellent arguments and avoided implying that
>his opinion was the "objectively correct" construction.
Yes, I know, and in my enthusiasm (=Georgian definition) I sort of indulged
myself (tho' I tried to justify it in a more recent message, and people who
know Jim would be inclined to assume that his original "ARE" statements
were surely shorthand for "IMHO", "as-I-construe-it" statements. He's been
around in pcp for quite some while...)
Reason for all this enthusiasm is A.J. Soyland's book, _Psychology as
Metaphor_, London: Sage 1994, in which the rhetoric, as opposed to
philosophy, of psychology is examined, and which has sensitised me to the
rhetorical figures of so much contemporary psychological discourse.
(It's like the dreadful old English joke about the French, you understand.
Winston is walking along the Champs Elisee with Jean-Claude, and remarks,
"Your Eiffel Tower: what a wonderful feat of engineering!", to which
Jean-Claude responds "Ohhh, eet remin' me of saix." "Why so, old chap?"
asks Winston, "how extraordinary!" "Pas extraordinaire", responds
Jean-Claude, "Wha', everytheeng remin' me of saix!")
And with this appalling bit of anglo/chauvinist nonsense, I rest my case.
Right now, I'm over-sensitised to the figures and forms of rhetoric. I'm so
sorry! But, if you have a moment and haven't seen Soyland, do get hold of
it: thought-provoking, and most extraordinaire.
Kindest regards,
Devi Jankowicz
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