From: Dayna Delval
To: Kevin Brooks , lynne.devitt@noridian.com, Mary_Pull@ndsu.nodak.edu, lynne_devitt@ndsu.nodak.edu
Subject: Chapter 7

I can not really remember if we were supposed to wait for questions from Dr. Brooks or not, but I had a chance to read this morning, so I am going to respond anyway. Hope this doesn't throw a glitch into anyone's "stuff."

My overall reaction is that relativism makes me a little bit crazy. Sorry, Lynne! :> On p. 146, the author says:

Relativists go one better, believing not only that everything man-made is socially shaped but that it is almost impossible to arrive at a single interpretation, a solitary reading of an object, its function, its effectiveness. "It could always be otherwise", is the relativist credo. I don't get this. I know that I am pretty black and white and that by nature, that means that I often have to rethink my stand on anything because I am so quick to make a judgement, but how can we live in a world that says it could always be otherwise about everything? That seems to go against everything we value. What is the point in faith in anything then?

I think it is odd that on the bottom of p.146, the author states:

It is infinitely easier to represent singularity and certainty, a single correct answer, the final verdict, than it is to do justice to a complex web of factors... What is the correct answer? Maybe now I sound like a relativist, but I don't see that in the humanities there can ever be a single, correct answer. I agree, it would be easier to find the "right" answer, but how often does the "right" answer fall into our laps? That's the good and bad about English, there is no right answer.

P.148, top paragraph - Count me out! How does a relativist ever write anything?!?!? If the point is to scrutinize the material, then scrutinize your assessment of the material, then scrutinize your scrutiny..Where does it end? maybe it's like the web-site I looked at. Nothing is ever finished, it is just done. I don't know. It makes me crazy to think about it all because I seem to have relativist reactions - back and forth. AGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can not believe that there is French in this essay. I suppose that now I have to admit the merit of taking French. GREAT!!! I commented on many other areas, but I think that I will close for now and wait for some response. I find that I hardly every truly comprehend what I have read about this technology stuff until we talk about it together. Either you all have better thought processes than I do (which is entirely possible and very probable!), or I just need time to think and process after hearing about every one's ideas.

I am anxious to hear all your ideas and responses. The only way I know anything is from all of you!

Dayna

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