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Paul Grobstein's picture

the multiplicy of isness

Submitted by Paul Grobstein on Sun, 09/13/2009 - 3:03pm.

Intriguing intersection as well with a biology senior seminar course conversation on "classification".  A perhaps relevant thought of mine there

An electron is an electron is an electron.  But a rose ... differs from all other roses.  And a Montague or a human or an elephant or an E. coli differs from all other instantiations of those things.  Yes, there are similarities but in focusing on those we obscure the differences.  Maybe the most important thing to teach about biology is the importance not only of similarities but also of differences?

I like very much the notion of "being" as "an unstable state ... provisional, and experimental."   And would be happen to sign on to a program to give more emphasis to the "fluidity of perception" not only in language but in human cultural constructs generally.   

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