Academic Questions Volume 9 Issue 3 1996 [Doi 10.1007%2Fbf02683060] Joseph Carroll -- Pluralism, Poststructuralism, And Evolutionary Theory

8/22/2019 Academic Questions Volume 9 Issue 3 1996 [Doi 10.1007%2Fbf02683060] Joseph Carroll -- Pluralism, Poststructura

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A R T I C L E S

Pluralism , Poststructura lism ,and Evolutionary TheoryJoseph Car r o l l

W e have all heard a good deal about the irrationalism that for over twodecades has domi nat ed the field of literary study, and man y of us havebeen concerned to observe the same movement now spreading rapidly intothe social sciences, especially by way of a nthr opo logy . In its various guises as"poststructuralism," "postmodernism," "deconstruction," "reader-responsetheory," "New Historicism," and "cultural studies," this whole c omp lex o f ideasand attitudes has bec ome so familiar that even its most b izarre features n owseem almost commonplace . But an intellectual mo ve me nt can bec om e famil-iar without being fully understood. What exactly are the basic, foundationalprinciples of this mov emen t? How is it possible t hat pe opl e ca n actually thinkthese things? Why would they want to? And, mo re urgently, on what basis canwe firmly reject these principles? How can we c om pr eh en d irrationalism withinour own fully rationalized view of the world?

The National Association of Scholars has become the single most impor-tant institutional m edi um for academics who are actively resisting cont empo -rary irrationalism and who wish to affirm the possibility of objective knowledge.Accordingly, the c onfe ren ce of the NAS that me t in C ambridg e, Massachu-setts, in November of 1994 was dedicated to the topic of rationality in thesciences, the social sciences, and the human ities. By jux tap osi ng the views putforwar d at this con fere nce with the views prevalent now in the humanities, wecan get a goo d app roxima tion o f the cur ren t state of the conflict. In m y viewof the conference, most of the papers presen ted on the panels for the humani-ties and the social sciences demonstrated that these two subject areas couldnot yet make good on their claim to join the har d sciences in affirming arational basis for their work. In the field of literary theory, the main tradi-tional alternative to radical irrationalism is the kind of "pluralism" espousedby humanists such as Meyer Abrams and Wayne Booth. History seems topre sen t a similar case. In both fields, pluralism is now f req uen tly dre ssed u p asa version of Bakhtin's "dialogism. "t My own view is that plurali sm is not somuch a coherent doctrinal position as a stopgap that disguises, even to itsproponents, the absence of any clear basis for rational understanding in the

Joseph Carroll is professor of English at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, St.Louis, MO 63121.


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4 4 A c a de m i c Q u e s t i o n s / S u m m e r 1 99 6

h u m a n i t i e s a n d t h e s o ci al sc i en c e s . T h a t is , p l u r a l i s m is n o t s o m u c h a n a l t e r-n a t i v e to i r r a t i o n a l i s m a s a s y m p t o m o f t h e p h i l o s o p h i c a l d i s a r r a y t h a t h a s l e f ta n o p e n i n g i n w h i c h a n a g g re s s i v e i r r a t io n a l i sm c o u l d a r i s e a n d f l o u r i s h .

I n t h e f i r s t p a r t o f t h is e s sa y , I sh a ll e x p l a i n w h y I t h i n k p l u r a l i s m c a n n o tw o r k . I n t h e s e c o n d p a r t , I s ha ll o f f e r a c o m p r e h e n s i v e a n a l y si s a n d e x p l a n a -t io n f o r c o n t e m p o r a r y i r r a t io n a l i sm i n t h e h u m a n i t i e s , p a r t i c u la r l y in l i t e r a r ys t u d i e s. F i n a ll y , a s a n a l t e r n a t i v e b o t h t o p l u r a l i s m a n d t o i r r a t i o n a l i s m , I sh a l la r g u e t h a t , i f t h e h u m a n i t i e s a n d t h e s o c ia l s c i e n c e s a r e e v e r t o b e c o m e r a t i o -h a l o b j ec t i v e f o r m s o f k n o w l e d g e , t h e y m u s t b e l o c a t e d w i t h in t h e m a t r i x o fe v o l u t i o n a r y b i o l o g y ?

P l u r a l is m c o n s is t s in a c o m p l e x o f r e l a t e d s u p p o s i t i o n s : t h a t a ll b a s i c p r i n -c ip le s, e v e n c o n t r a d i c t o r y p r in c i p l e s , c a n b e r e g a r d e d a s c o m p l e m e n t a r y ; t h a ta n y g i v e n s e t o f p r i n c i p l e s p r o v i d e s s p e c ia l a cc e s s t o s o m e d i s t in c t a s p e c t o fm e a n i n g i n a n y g i v en t ex t; t h a t a ll p r i n c ip l e s c a n t h u s b e c o m b i n e d t o p r o d u c ea c o m p r e h e n s i v e t h o u g h n o t w h o l ly sy s t em a t i c c r i t i ca l o r g a n o n ; a n d t h a t t h ed i v e rs i ty o f i n s i g h ts w i t h i n t h i s o r g a n o n w il l e n a b l e u s t o r e s p o n d f l ex i b ly tot h e d i v e r s i ty o f l i t e ra r y e x p e r i e n c e s . T h e m a n n e r t h a t t y p ic a ll y c o r r e s p o n d s t ot h is p o s i t io n , a m a n n e r o f g e n i a l , u r b a n e c iv il it y, h a s a c e r t a i n c h a r m , b u t , a s at h e o r e t i c a l s t a n c e , p l u r a l i s m u l t i m a t e l y i n v o l v e s a f a i l u r e t o t a k e i n t e l l e c t u a lr e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r b a s ic p r i n c i p l e s t h a t s ti l l, i n e s c a p a b l y , e x e r c i s e c o n t r o l l i n gp o w e r o v e r a ll s p e ci f i c j u d g m e n t s . I f, a s I w o u l d a r g u e , a ll s p e c i fi c j u d g m e n t si m p l y a n a p p e a l t o s o m e d e f i n i t e a n d e x c lu s i v e s e t o f p r i n c i p le s , p l u r a li s tsm u s t e i t h e r s h if t a b o u t f r o m o n e s e t o f p r i n c ip l e s t o a n o t h e r o r t ac i t ly p r e s u p -p o s e a s ta b l e a n d c o n s i s t e n t s e t o f p r i n c ip l e s . I n t h e f i r s t c a se , p l u r a l i s m r e s u l t si n a s h a l l o w e c l e c t ic i s m . I n t h e s e c o n d c a s e , i t r e s u l t s i n a d i s p a r i t y b e t w e e nt h e o r y a n d p r a ct ic e .

T h e r e a r e tw o d is t i n c t f o r m s o f p l u r a l i s m - o n e r a d i ca l a n d t h e o t h e r m o d e r -a t e - t h a t a r e s o m e t i m e s f a l se ly c o n f l a t e d a s i f t h e y w e r e s im p l y d i f f e r e n t a s-p e c ts o f t h e s a m e a r g u m e n t . T h e m o d e r a t e f o r m c o n s is ts i n t h e c o n t e n t i o nt h a t t h e d i v e r s i ty o f c ri t i c a l r e a d i n g s m e r e l y r e f l e c t s a d i v e r s it y i n t h e a s p e c t so f a t e x t t o w h i c h d i f f e r e n t c r it ic s c h o o s e t o p a y a t t e n t i o n . T h e r a d i c a l f o r mc o n si st s in t h e c o n t e n t i o n t h a t w e h a v e n o b a s i s f o r m a k i n g d e c i s i o n s a m o n gc o n f l i c t i n g f o u n d a t i o n a l p r i n c i p l e s o r s y s t e m s o f b e l ie f . In " W h a t ' s t h e U s e o fT h e o r i z i n g A b o u t t h e A r ts ?" M . H . A b r a m s c o n f l a t e s t h e s e t w o p r o p o s i t i o n si n t o a s i n g l e s t a t e m e n t . "No o n e s e t o f p r e m i s e s a n d c o h e r e n t m o d e o f di s -c o u r s e s u f f ic e s t o sa y e v e r y t h i n g i m p o r t a n t , b u t o n l y t h e k i n d o f t h i n g s , r e la -t iv e to s e l e c te d h u m a n p u r p o s e s , t o w a r d w h i c h t h a t d i s c o u r s e is o r i e n t e d . "P l u ra l is m h e r e i s r e g i s t e r e d as a m a t t e r b o t h o f d i v e rs e " p r e m i s e s " a n d o fd i v e r s e "purposes." I n s u s p e n d i n g j u d g m e n t o n " p r e m i s e s , " A b r a m s r e n d e r sh i m s e l f i n c a p a b l e o f e x p l a i n i n g t h e g r o u n d s o n w h i c h w e w o u l d d e s i g n a t e a n ya s p e c t o f a t ex t m o r e " i m p o r t a n t " t h a n a n y o t h e r . I f w e h a v e n o c o n c e p t u a ls t r u c t u r e w i t h in w h i c h t o as se ss w h a t is i m p o r t a n t a n d w h a t is n o t , " e v e r y t h i n gi m p o r t a n t t o b e s a id " c a n b e i d e n t i f i e d o n l y as e v e r y t h i n g th a t a c t u a l l y h a s


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C a r r o l l 4 5

b e e n s ai d. I n h i s o w n c r it ic a l p r a c t i c e , A b r a m s o v e r c o m e s t h e c r i p p l i n g i m p l i-c a t io n s o f t hi s s u s p e n d e d t h e o r e ti c a l j u d g m e n t o n l y b y t ac it ly a p p e a l i n g t o as e t o f p r e m i s e s t h a t c o r r e la t e c l o se ly w i t h t h e g o o d s e n s e o f t h e e d u c a t e dc o m m o n r e a d e r b u t t h a t a re a ls o c r u ci a l ly i n f l u e n c e d b y h is o w n p h i l o s o p h i c a la n d i d e o l o g i c a l p r e d i s p o s i t i o n s - - p r e d i s p o s i t i o n s , a g a i n , th a t a r e f u l l y a c t iv ew i t h o u t b e i n g f ul ly a c k n o w l e d g e d a n d a c c o u n t e d f or . 3

A b r a m s ' s p l u r a li sm g r o u n d s i ts e l f i n p h i lo s o p h i c a l p r e c o n c e p t i o n s d e r i v e df r o m W i t tg e n s t e i n , b u t i t s e e m s m o t i v a t e d p r i m a r i l y b y a n i d e a l o f i n t e l l e c t u a lr e p u b l i c a n i s m o r c i v il i ty f o r w h i c h M i ll is t h e g r e a t h i s to r i c a l a n t e c e d e n t . I n" D a n c i n g T h r o u g h t h e M i n e f i e ld " - -a c u l t c la ss ic a m o n g r a d ic a l f e m i n i s t t h e o -r i s t s - A n n e t t e K o l o d n y p r o p o u n d s p l u ra l i s m f r o m a n i d e o lo g i ca l p e r s p e c t iv er a di ca l l y d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h a t o f A b r a m s . S h e g r o u n d s h e r p l u r a l i s m i n t h en o t i o n o f i n te r p r e t iv e c o m m u n i t i e s p r o m u l g a t e d b y S t a n le y F is h, a n d s h e a d -v o c a t es p l u r a l i s m in a w a y th a t s e e m s m o t i v a t e d p r i m a r i l y b y a n u l t e r i o r i d e o -l og ic a l p u r p o s e : t h at o f s u s p e n d i n g t h e c a n o n i c a l j u d g m e n t s t h a t h a v e g i v e n ap r e d o m i n a n t s t a t u s t o w r i te r s w h o a r e w h i te , m a l e , a n d h e t e r o s e x u a l . I n o r d e rt o a c c o m p l i sh h e r m i ss io n , K o l o d n y a l t e rn a t es b e t w e e n t h e m o d e r a t e a n d r ad i-c al f o r m s o f p lu r a l i s m , s u b s t i t u t in g o n e f o r t h e o t h e r w i t h o u t r e g i s t e r in g t h ed i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e m . F i rs t, s h e q u o t e s R o b e r t S c h o l e s 's v e r s i o n o f t h em o d e r a t e f o r m , t h e "p l u ra l is t c o n t e n t i o n t h a t ' i n a p p r o a c h i n g a t e x t o f an yc o m p l e x i t y . . , t h e r e a d e r m u s t c h o o s e t o e m p h a s i z e c e r ta i n a s p e c t s w h i c h s e e mt o h i m c r u c ia l ,' a n d t h a t ' in f a ct , t h e v a r i e ty o f r e a d i n g s w h i c h w e h a v e f o rm a n y w o r k s i s a f u n c t i o n o f t h e s e l e c t i o n o f c r u ci a l as p e c ts m a d e b y t h e v a r ie t yo f r e a d e r s . '" T a k e n b y i ts el f, t h is p r o p o s i t i o n s e e m s t o i m p l y t h a t a ll r e a d i n g ss h a r e id e n t ic a l p r e m i s e s a n d a r e t h u s u l t im a t e l y r e c o n c i l a b le a n d c o m p l e m e n -t ar y. K o l o d n y h e r s e l f t h e n p r o p o s e s a " p l a y fu l p l u r a l i s m ' - - t h e m o r e r a d ic a lk i n d o f p l u r a l i s m - - t h a t is " r e s p o n s i v e t o t h e p o s s i b il i ti e s o f m u l t i p l e c r it ic a ls c h o o l s a n d m e t h o d s " b u t t h a t i s " c a p t i v e t o n o n e . " S h e a c k n o w l e d g e s t h a tt h is s o r t o f p l u r a l is m " s e e m s to t h r e a t e n a k i n d o f c h a o s f o r t h e f u t u r e o fl i t e r ar y i n q u i r y w h i le , at t h e s a m e t i m e , i t s e e m s t o d e n y t h e h o p e o f e s ta b l is h -i n g s o m e b as ic c o n c e p t u a l m o d e l w h i c h c a n o r g a n i z e al l d a t a - - t h e h o p e w h i c ha lw a ys b e g i n s a n y a n al y ti ca l e x e rc i se ." H a v i n g s o u n d e d t h e a l a r m o f i m m i n e n tc h a o s , s h e t h e n r e t r e a ts r e a s s u r in g l y i n t o t h e m o d e r a t e f o r m o f p l u ra l i sm . A l lt h e p l u r a l is t n e e d g iv e u p " is s i m p l y t h e a r r o g a n c e o f c l a im i n g t h a t o u r w o r k ise i t h e r e x h a u s t i v e o r d e f i n it iv e . TM

I n o p p o s i t io n t o fo r m u l a t i o n s s uc h a s th o s e o f A b r a m s a n d K o l o d n y , I s ha lla f f i r m t w o t h e s e s : f ir st , t h a t i t is p o s s i b l e t o m a k e r a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n s a b o u t t h er e la t i ve v al id i ty o f p r e m i s e s , m e t h o d s , a n d i n t e r p r e t i v e p r o p o s i t i o n s w i t h o u ts u c c u m b i n g t o t h e d e l u s i o n o f h a v i n g ac h i e v e d a b s o lu t e a n d f in a l k n o w l e d g e ;a n d s e c o n d , th a t w i t h o u t m a k i n g s u ch d e c is i o n s n o d e t e r m i n a t e c o n c e p t u a lf o r m u l a t i o n is p o s si b le . T h e d e c i s i o n s w e m a k e c a n a n d s h o u l d b e a lw a y s p r o -v i si o n al , s u b j e c t to r e v i s io n in t h e l i g h t o f f u r t h e r e v i d e n c e o r c o r r e c t e d r e a-s o n i n g ; b u t n o t a ll c o n c e p t u a l d e c i s io n s ar e c o m p a t i b l e w i t h o n e a n o t h e r , a n d


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4 6 A c a d e m i c Q u e s t i o n s / S u m m e r 1 9 96

u n l es s w e c h o o s e a m o n g i n c o m p a t i b l e a lt e r n a t iv e s o u r t h i n k i n g i s n o t c o m -p r e h e n s i v e b u t m e r e ly i n d e t e r m i n a t e . I f w e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y e n t e r t a i n i n c o m -p a t i b le h y p o t h e s e s , t h e s e h y p o t h e s e s m e r e l y c a n c e l e a c h o t h e r o u t , le a v i n go u r p r o p o s i t i o n s c o n c e p t u a l l y v o i d ; a n d i f w e e n t e r t a i n a ll p r o p o s i t i o n s o n l yo n t h e le ve l a t w h i c h t h e y c an b e r e c o n c i l e d w i t h a ll o t h e r p r o p o s i t i o n s , w ec o n d e m n o u r s e lv e s t o t r u is t i c i na n i t y .

I t is c e r t a in l y t r u e t h a t d i f f e r e n t c r it ic a l s t u d i e s c a n f o c u s o n d i f f e r e n t a s p e c t so f a t e x t - - b i o g r a p h i c a l i n f l u e n c e s , s ty l e, t o n e , n a r r a t i v e s t r u c t u r e , s e x u a l r el a -t io n s , so c ia l c o n s t r u c t s , r e l i g i o u s o r p h i l o s o p h i c a l t h e m e s , a n d s o o n . I t is n o n e -t h e l e s s t h e c a s e t h a t a ll s p e c i f ic t o p i c s o f analysis c a n u l t i m a t e ly b e c o o r d i n a t e dw i t h i n a c o n s i s t e n t s e t o f g e n e r a l p r i n c i p l e s. P h y s i c al s c ie n c e p r o v i d e s a p a r a l le lf o r t h is t h es is . P h y si cs , c h e m i s tr y , a n d m o l e c u l a r b i o l o g y a ll h a v e t h e i r d i s t in c ta r ea s o f c o n c e r n a n d t h e i r d i s t in c t g o v e r n i n g c o n c e p t s , b u t a ll t h r e e d i s c i p li n e sc a n b e c o o r d i n a t e d w i th i n t h e f i e ld o f p h y s ic a l s c ie n c e; t h e y c a n p r o v i d e c o m p l e -m e n t a r y a n d s u p p l e m e n t a r y f o r m s o f k n o w l e d g e a b o u t t h e s a m e p h e n o m e n a ,a n d t h e y d o n o t c o n f l i c t i n a n y o f t h e i r b a si c p r i n c i p l e s. A l l s c h o o l s o f c ri ti ca lt h e o r y c o n ta i n a re as o f c o m m o n u n d e r s t a n d i n g - - c o m m o n la n g u a g e s s u sc ep -t ib l e t o r e c i p r o c a l t r a n s l a ti o n , f o r e x a m p l e - - a n d i t is p o s s i b l e a n d e v e n l ik e ly t h a te l e m e n t s s p e c if ic to d i s t in c t s y s t e m s s u c h a s M a r x i s m a n d p s y c h o a n a l y s i s w o u l db e i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o a m o r e a d e q u a t e ly e s t ab l is h e d s et o f c o m p r e h e n s i v e p r in -c ip le s, b u t t h a t m o r e a d e q u a t e s e t o f p r i n c ip l e s w o u l d l e g i t im a t e i t se l f t h r o u g hi ts c o n s i s te n c y w i th t h e l a r g e r b o d y o f sc i e n ti f ic k n o w l e d g e , t h e c o g e n c y o f i tsb a s ic c o n c e p t s , its c o h e r e n c e , a n d i ts e x p l a n a t o r y p o w e r , n o t t h r o u g h i ts a b il it yto a c c o m m o d a t e d i f f e re n t a n d c o m p e t i n g p r i n c i p le s . 5

P l ur a li s t s d o n o t d o u b t t h e v a li d it y o f r e a so n . T h e y d o u b t o n l y t h a t t h es u b je c t m a t t e r o f t h e h u m a n i t i e s c an e v e r b e fu lly c o m p r e h e n d e d w i t h i n ac o h e r e n t , u n i f i e d s t r u c t u r e o f k n o w l e d g e . C o n t e m p o r a r y i rr a ti on a l i s t s , i n c o n -t ra s t , s tr ik e b o l d l y a t th e v e r y f o u n d a t i o n s o f al l o b je c t iv e u n d e r s t a n d i n g . F o rc o n v e n i e n c e , I sh a ll r e f e r t o t h is w h o l e s c h o o l o f t h o u g h t a s " p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s m . "I i n t e n d t h is t e r m t o i n d i c a t e a n e s s en t ia l c o n t i n u i t y b e t w e e n t h e D e r r i d e a nl in g u i s t i c s e v e n t i e s a n d t h e F o u c a u l d i a n p o l i t i c a l e i g h t ie s , a n d I i n t e n d i t t oe m b r a c e a l l t h e m o r e p a r t ic u l a r s c h o o ls o f c o n t e m p o r a r y i r r a t i o n a li s t t h e o r y .I s ha ll a r g u e t h a t t h e w h o l e la r g e r s t r u c t u r e o f id e a s i n th i s m o v e m e n t c a n b er e d u c e d t o t w o e l e m e n t a r y d o c t r i n e s . I sh a ll i d e n t i f y t h e c e n t r a l r h e t o r i c a l a n dc o n c e p t u a l s t r a te g y th r o u g h w h i c h th e s e d o c t r in e s a r e r e n d e r e d m o r e o r l es sp l a u s ib l e a n d i so l at e t h e i d e o lo g i c a l a n d i n s t i t u t io n a l p u r p o s e s t h e p r i n c i p l e sa r e d e s i g n e d t o s e r v e .

T h e c e n t r a l d o c t r i n e s o f p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s m a r e t e x t u a l is m a n d i n d e t e r m i -n a cy . T e x t u a l i s m i s t h e i d e a t h a t l a n g u a g e o r c u l t u r e c o n s t i t u t e s o r c o n s t r u c t st h e w o r l d a c c o r d i n g t o its o w n i n t e r n a l p r i n c ip l e s , a n d i n d e t e r m i n a c y i d e n ti -f ie s al l m e a n i n g a s u l t im a t e l y s e lf - c o n tr a d ic t o ry . T e x t u a l i s m t r e at s h u m a n b e -i n g s a n d t h e w o r l d i n w h i c h t h e y l iv e a s t h e e f f e c ts o f a l i n g u i s ti c o r c u l t u r a ls y st em , a n d i n d e t e r m i n a c y r e d u c e s k n o w l e d g e to t h e s p o n t a n e o u s g e n e r a t i o n


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C a r r o l l 4 7

o f i n t e r n a l c o n t r a d i c t i o n s w i t h i n t h i s sy s t e m . J . H i ll is M i l l er o f f e r s a r e p r e s e n -t at iv e f o r m u l a t i o n o f t h e t e x tu a l is t th e si s. " W e m a k e t h i n g s w h a t t h e y a r e b yn a m i n g t h e m i n o n e w a y o r a n o t h e r , t h a t is , b y t h e i n c o r p o r a t i o n o f e m p i r i c a ld a t a i n t o a c o n v e n t i o n a l s y s t e m o f si g n s. " (M i l le r a t t r ib u t e s t h is t e x t u a l is t d o c -t r in e , w r o n g l y , t o G e o r g e E l io t .) 6 I n M i c h e l F o u c a u l t ' s f o r m u l a t i o n , " I f i n t er -p r e t a t i o n c a n n e v e r b e b r o u g h t t o a n e n d , i t is s i m p l y b e c a u s e t h e r e is n o t h i n gt o i n t e rp r e t . T h e r e is n o t h i n g a b s o l u te l y p r i m a r y t o i n t e r p r e t , b e c a u s e a t b o t -t o m e v e r y t h i n g is a l re a d y i n t e r p r e t a t i o n [ t o u t e s t d O ' ~ i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ] . " 7 F r e d r i cJ a m e s o n o f fe r s a r e p r e s e n ta t iv e f o r m u l a t i o n o f i n d e t e r m i n a c y . " 'P o s ts t r u c -t u r a l is m , ' o r , as I p r e f e r , ' t h e o r e t i c a l d i s c o u r s e , ' is a t o n e w i t h t h e d e m o n s t r a -t i o n o f t h e n e c e s s a r y i n c o h e r e n c e a n d i m p o s s i b i l i t y o f a ll t h i n k i n g . "8 I n t h isr e sp e c t , p o s t s t ru c t u r a l i s m w o u l d b e i d e n t ic a l w i t h t h e " h e r m e n e u t i c " e x p e r i-e n c e - s u p p o s e d l y e x e m p l i f i e d b y M ar x, F r e u d , a n d N i e tz s c h e- - th a t F o u c a u l td e s c r ib e s a s " th is c o n v e r g e n c e o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n t o w a r d a p o i n t t h a t r e n d e r s i ti m p o s s i b l e . - 9

T o g e t h e r , t e x t u a l i s m a n d i n d e t e r m i n a c y e l i m i n a t e t h e t w o c r i te r ia o f t ru t h :t h e c o r r e s p o n d e n c e o f p r o p o s i t io n s t o t h e i r o b je c ts a n d t h e i n t e rn a l c o h e r -e n c e o f p r o p o s i t io n s . B y a ff i r m i n g th a t t e xt s d o n o t r e f e r t o o b j e c ts b u t r a t h e rc o n s t i t u t e th e m , t e x tu a l is m e l im i n a t e s c o r r e s p o n d e n c e ; a n d b y a f f i r m i n g t h a ta ll m e a n i n g i s u l t im a t e l y c o n t r a d i c to r y , i n d e t e r m i n a c y e l i m i n a t e s c o h e r e n c e .B y e l i m i n a t i n g t r u t h , p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s m y i e l d s e p i s t e m o l o g i c a l a n d o n t o l o g i c a lp r i m a c y t o r h e t o r i c o r " d i s c o u r s e , " a n d i t s i m u l t a n e o u s l y d e l e g i t i m i z e s a ll t ra -d i t i o n a l n o r m s . S i n c e p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s m t r e at s a ll n o r m s a s a rb i t ra r y , i t h a s ac o n v e n i e n t a p p l i c a t i o n w i t h i n t h e f i e ld o f r a d i c a l p o li t ic a l id e o l o g y . I n i t s p o -l i ti ca l a sp e c t , p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s m t y p ic a ll y t r ea t s n o r m a t i v e i n t e l le c t u a l , m o r a l ,a n d s o ci al s t r u c t u r e s w i th i n t h e W e s t e r n c u l tu r a l t r a d i t io n a s f r a u d u l e n t a n do p p r e s s i v e - a s p u r e l y c o n v e n t io n a l co n s t r u c ts t h a t a re d e s i g n e d t o p e r p e t u a t et h e e x p l o i t a t i v e i n t e r e s t s o f s o c ia l e l it e s, p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e i n t e r e s t s o f w h i t e m a l eh e t e r o s e x u a l s o f t h e r u l i n g c l a ss e s ? ~

I n t h e d e g r e e t o w h i c h it s h o c k s c o m m o n s e n s e , t h e p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s t r e p u -d i a t i o n o f n a t u r e t y p ic a ll y e n g a g e s i n a d is t in c t i v e f o r m o f s o p h i s t r y : t h e b l e n d -i n g o r s h i f t in g b a c k a n d f o r t h b e t w e e n s t a t e m e n t s t h a t ar e , o n t h e o n e h a n d ,r a d ic a ll y a b s u r d , a n d , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , b l a n d l y t ru i s ti c . B y f i n d i n g a le v e l o fg e n e r a l it y i n w h i c h t h e tw o k i n d s o f s t a t e m e n t m e r g e i n t o o n e a n o t h e r , r h e t o -r ic ia n s c a n u s e r a d ic a l a b s u r d i ty t o i n v e s t tr u i s m w i th t h e d e l u s o r y a p p e a r a n c eo f s u b s t a n t i v e a r g u m e n t a n d c a n u s e t r u i s m t o i n v e s t r a d ic a l a b s u r d i t y w i t ht h e d e l u s o r y a p p e a r a n c e o f c o g e n c y . I n a n a r ti c le i n A c a d e m i c Q u e s t i o n s , " S t e p h e nG r e e n b l a t t ' s N e w H i s t o r i ci s t V i s i o n ," P a u l A . C a n t o r h a s g i v e n a g o o d a n a ly s iso f su c h s tr a t e g i e s in t h e w o r k o f o n e o f t he m o s t p r o m i n e n t c o n t e m p o r a r yc ri tic s. G e n e r a l i z in g f r o m t hi s i n s t a n c e a n d d r a w i n g o n K a r l P o p p e r ' s c r i t iq u eo f h is t o ri c is m , C a n t o r a r g u e s t h a t " m u c h o f t h e s u c c es s o f h i s t o r i c i sm i n g e n -e ra l a n d t h e N e w H i s t o r i c is m i n p a r t ic u l ar d e p e n d s o n w a v e r i n g b e t w e e n . . , t h ew e a k a n d s t r o n g h i s t o r i c is t p o s i t io n s . " n


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4 8 A c a de m ic Q u e s t i o n s / S u m m e r 1 99 6

T h e s t r a te g y id e n t i f i e d b y C a n t o r is a l l- p er v as iv e in c o n t e m p o r a r y c r i t ic i sm .L e a r n i n g h o w t o p ic k t h i s o n e l o c k g iv e s a c ce s s t o t h e i n n e r s a n c t u m o f m a n ya p o s ts t ru c t u r a l i s t m y s t e r y . A n d w e m a y g e n e r a l iz e t h e p r i n c i p l e e v e n f u r t h e r ,t a k i n g i t b e y o n d t h e l e v el o f r h e t o r i c a l s t r a t e g y t o t h e l e v e l o f s u b s t a n t i v e d o c -t r i n e . O n e o f t h e t w o c e n tr a l d o c t r i n e s o f p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s m - t h e l a r g e g e n e r a lc l a im t h a t l i t e ra r y t ex t s c o n s t r u c t o r c o n s t i t u t e r e a l i t y -- i ts e l f c o m p r i s e s e q u a lp a r t s o f ta u t o l o g y a n d r a d i ca l a b s u r d i t y . T h e t a u t o l o g y i s t h a t w e c a n s p e a k o rw r i te o f n a t u r e a n d h u m a n n a t u r e o n l y in s p e e c h o r w r i t in g . T h e t a u t o l o g y isd e s i g n e d t o s u p p r e s s t h e r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t p e r c e p t i o n , t h o u g h t s , a n d e m o t i o n a lr e s p o n s e s a r e t h e m s e l v e s n o t e x c l u s iv e l y l in g u i s ti c in c h a r a c t e r , t h o u g h i t is o fc o u r s e t r u e t h a t p e r c e p t i o n s , t h o u g h t s , a n d e m o t i o n a l r e s p o n s e s c a n b e lin -g u i st ic a ll y f o r m u l a t e d o n l y in l in g u i s ti c fo r m u l a t i o n s . T h e t a u t o l o g y - - t h e i d e at h a t w e c a n r e fe r t o t h i n g s o n l y b y r e f e r r in g t o t h e m - - b l e n d s a l m o s t i m p e r c e p t i b l yi n t o t h e r a d i c a l a b s u r d i t y : t h e i d e a t h a t w e c a n n o t r e fe r t o th i n g s , t h a t n a t u r e a n dh u m a n n a t u r e , i n s o f a r a s w e c a n k n o w t h e m , a r e e xc lu s iv e ly c o n s t i t u t e d o rs t r u c t u r e d b y la n g u a g e .

F o u c a u l t a n d D e r r i d a p r o v i d e e x e m p l a r y , s e m i n a l f o r m u l a t i o n s o f t h e el-e m e n t a r y t ex t u a li s t th e si s, a n d t h e i r f o r m u l a t i o n s c a n s e r v e t o i l lu s t ra t e t h ep r i n c i p l e i n a c t i o n . I n " N i e t zs c h e , F r e u d , M a r x , " F o u c a u l t o f f e r s a n i n s t a n c eo f t e x t u a li s t c o n c e p t i o n s p r e s u p p o s e d w i t h i n a s in g l e , s e e m i n g l y se l f - e v i d e n tp r o p o s i t i o n , t h e c l a i m t h a t " a t b o t t o m e v e r y t h i n g is a l r e a d y i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . "F o u c a u l t e x p l a i n s , " E a c h s i g n is i n i ts e l f n o t t h e t h i n g t h a t p r e s e n t s i t s e lf t oi n t e r p r e t a t i o n , b u t t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f o t h e r s ig n s. ''~z F o u c a u l t ' s f o r m u l a i se s se n t i a l ly c o r r e l a t i v e w i th t h e D e r r i d e a n c o n c e p t i o n o f " d i f f d r a n c e ' - - t h e i d e at h a t " t h e s ig n r e p r e s e n t s t h e p r e s e n t i n its a b s e n c e . I t ta k e s t h e p l a c e o f th ep r e s e n t . . . . T h e s ig n , in t h is s e n se , is d e f e r r e d p r e s e n c e . " O r , a s D e r r i d a p u t si t in " W h i t e M y t h o l o g y " w it h m o r e c o n c r e t e n e s s o f r e f e r e n c e , " T h e s u n isn e v e r p r o p e r l y p r e s e n t in d i s c o u r s e ." I n th is p a ss a g e , D e r r i d a u s e s t h e t e r m" m e t a p h o r " in t h e p l ac e o f F o u c a u l t 's t e r m " i n t e r p r e t a t i o n " :

E a c h t i m e t h a t t h e r e is a m e t a p h o r , t h e r e is d o u b tl e s s a s u n s o m e w h e r e ; b u t e a c ht i m e t h a t t h e r e i s s u n , m e t a p h o r h a s b e g u n . I f t h e s u n i s m e t a p h o r i c a l a l w ay s ,a l r e a d y , i t is n o l o n g e r c o m p l e t e l y n a t u r a l . I t is a l wa y s, a l r e a d y a l u s t e r , a c h a n d e -l ie r , o n e m i g h t s a y an a r t i f w i a l c o n s t r u c t i o n , i f o n e c o u l d s til l g i v e c r e d e n c e t o t h i ss ig n i fi c at io n w h e n n a t u r e h a s d i sa p p e a r e d . F o r i f t h e s u n is n o l o n g e r c o m p l e t e l yn a t u r a l , w h a t i n n a t u r e d o e s r e m a i n n a t u r a l ? 13T h i s c la ss ic e x p o s i t i o n c o m b i n e s f o r m s o f e q u i v o c a t i o n a n d s e l f -c o n t r a d i c t i o ns im i l a r to t h o s e i n t h e p a s sa g e w e h a v e s e e n f r o m K o l o d n y . D e r r i d a u s e s p a r -t i al q u a l i f i er s s u c h as " n o l o n g e r c o m p l e t e l y " t o h e d g e r a d i c a l i n t i m a t i o n s s u c ha s t h e s u g g e s ti o n t h a t " n a t u r e h a s d i s a p p e a r e d . " I f p u s h e d , D e r r i d a c o u l d s ayt h a t n a t u r e is s ti ll , s o m e h o w , p a r t i a l l y p r e s e n t i n m e t a p h o r , a n d w h e n n o tp u s h e d h e c a n s i m p l y p r e s u p p o s e t h a t n a t u r e h a s w h o l l y d i s a p p e a r e d w i t h int h e " a rt if ic i a l. " I f w e i n s is t th a t t h e s u n t o w h i c h w e r e f e r d o e s a c t u a l l y e x i st ,


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C a r r o l l 4 9

D e r r i d a c a n r e s p o n d , i n h a u g h t y i n d i g n a t i o n , t h a t h e h a s h i m s e l f a c k n o w l -e d g e d t h a t " th e r e is d o u b t l e s s a s u n s o m e w h e r e . " T h e s e q u e n c e f r o m d e f e n -s iv e f e i n t t o s u b s t a n t i v e c l a i m t h u s r u n s l i k e th is : T h e s u n e x is ts , a n d t h a t isn a t u r e , b u t n a t u r e is n o l o n g e r " c o m p l e t e ly " n a tu r a l , a n d b e c a u s e i t is n o tc o m p l e t e l y n a t u r a l , i t is n o t n a t u r a l a t all . " W h a t i n n a t u r e d o e s r e m a i n n a t u -r al ? " G i v e n s u c h a n s w e r s , m a n y c ri t i c s a n d t h e o r i s t s a r e l i k e ly t o r e t r e a t , c h a s -t e n e d a n d c o n f u s e d , a n d o n c e t h e y h a v e r e t r e a t e d , D e r r i d a c a n c o n t i n u e t op r e s u p p o s e , a s t h e b as is o f h is p h i lo s o p h i c a l c o m m e n t a r i e s , t h a t " n a t u r e h a sd i s a p p e a r e d . "

T h e o b f u s c a t o r y r h e t o r i c a l t ac ti cs in w h i c h D e r r i d a a n d F o u c a u l t h a v e t u -t o r e d A n g l o - A m e r i c a n c r i ti c s p r o v i d e a c o v e r f o r t h e s o p h i s t ic a l l o g i c th a tc o n s t i tu t e s t h e p r o p o s i t io n a l s u b s t a n c e o f t h e i r f o r m u l a t i o n s . A t t h e s u b s ta n -t iv e p r o p o s i t i o n a l l ev e l, t h e s e f o r m u l a t i o n s c o m b i n e a q u e s t i o n - b e g g i n g t a u -t o l o g y w i th a s u b s t a n t iv e t h es is t h a t i s m e r e l y fa ls e . T h e b e g g e d q u e s t i o n is t h ec l a i m t h a t a ll p e r c e p t i o n s a r e t h e m s e l v e s " s i g n s" - -a p r o p o s i t i o n t h a t - -a s F o u c a u l t ' so w n h i s t o r i c a l c o n t e x t u a l i z a t i o n i n " N i e t z s c h e , F r e u d , M a r x " m a k e s c l e a r - - a f -f il ia t es i t s e lf c l o s e l y w i t h s i x t e e n t h - c e n t u r y n o t i o n s t h a t t h e w o r l d is it s e l f a t e x to r s y m b o l i c c o n s t r u c t ( t h o u g h w i t h o u t G o d a s a u t h o r , a n d i n th is r e s p e c t u n -l ik e R e n a i s s a n c e c o n c e p t i o n s o f a s y m b o l i c w o r l d o r d e r ) . T h e f a ls e s u b s t a n t i v et h es i s n e s t l e d t a c it ly w i t h i n t h e b e g g e d q u e s t i o n is t h e i d e a t h a t w e c a n n o td i s t in g u i s h b e t w e e n p e r c e p t i o n s a n d t h e v e rb a l , v is u al , o r a u d i t o r y s ig n a ls t h a ta r e d e s i g n e d b y p e o p l e t o c o m m u n i c a t e i n f o r m a t i o n .

P o s e t h e t ac i t p r o p o s i t i o n a s a q u e s t i o n : A r e s e n s o r y p e r c e p t i o n s i n n o w a yd i s t i n g u i s h a b l e f r o m l in g u i st ic f o r m u l a t i o n s ? I f w e w a t c h a t r e e f al l, h e a r i tc r a sh , fe e l t h e e a r t h t r e m b l e , s m e l l t h e o d o r o f c r u s h e d l ea v es , a n d t a s te t h ep o l l e n a n d d u s t t h r o w n i n t o t h e a i r , a n d i f w e t h e n t u r n t o a c o m p a n i o n w h os ay s, " T h a t t r e e fe ll t o t h e n o r t h , " c a n w e i n n o w a y d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n o u rp e r c e p t i o n s o f th e t r e e f a ll in g a n d o u r c o m p a n i o n ' s v e r b a l c o m m e n t a r y o nt hi s fa ll? M e r e l y t o p o s e t h e q u e s t i o n is v i r t u a ll y to a n s w e r i t, a n d b y b e g i n n i n gto m a k e s u c h d i s t in c t io n s w e w o u l d o p e n t h e w a y to w a r d a s u b s t a n t iv e r e-s e a r c h p r o g r a m i n c o g n i t i v e p s y c h o l o g y a n d l in g u is t i cs . B u t m e r e l y to p o s et h e q u e s t i o n is i ts e l f t o s t ep i m m e d i a t e l y a n d d e c is iv e ly o u t s i d e t h e b o u n d a r yo f t h e b e g g e d t e x tu a l is t q u e s t i o n , a n d i t is t h is b e g g e d q u e s t i o n t h a t c r u c i a l lyd e f i n e s t h e c o m m u n i t y o f d is c o u r s e i n w h i c h F o u c a u l t a n d D e r r i d a c o n s t i t u t es e m i n a l a u t h o r i t i e s .

I t w o u l d b e v e r y d if f ic u l t t o o v e r e s t i m a t e t h e d o c t r i n a l s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h er h e t o r i c a l s le i g h t -o f - h a n d e x e m p l i f i e d in F o u c a u l t ' s c l a i m t h a t " a t b o t t o m e v-e r y t h i n g is a l r e a d y in t e r p r e t a t i o n . " A s F o u c a u l t h i m s e l f re m a r k s , " P e r h a p s t hi sp r e e m i n e n c e o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i n r e la t i o n t o s ig n s is w h a t i s m o s t d e c i s iv e i nm o d e r n h e r m e n e u t i c s . TM I t h i n k w e c a n d e l e t e th e w o r d " P e r h a p s . " T h e c e n -t ra l th e s is o f m o d e r n h e r m e n e u t i c s a s F o u c a u l t d e s c r i b e s i t - - th e i d e a t h a t a ll o fr e a l it y , a t l e a s t so f a r a s w e c a n k n o w i t, is i n i ts e s s e n c e s e m i o t i c o r l i n g u i s t i c i nc h a ra c t er - - is t h e n u c l e u s f r o m w h i c h m o d e r n c r i ti ca l t h e o r y h a s e v o l v ed . T h e


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5 0 A c a d e m ic Q u e s t i o n s / S u m m e r 1 99 6

t h es is is e r r o n e o u s , a n d t h e s o p h is t ic a l m a n e u v e r s t h r o u g h w h i c h i t is p r e -s e n t e d a r e d e s i g n e d n o t o n l y t o d is g u i s e t h e a b s u r d i t y o f t h e p r o p o s i t i o n a lc o n t e n t b u t a l so t o in s u l a te t h is c o n t e n t f r o m r a t i o n a l c r i t i c is m .

S a m u e l J o h n s o n te lls u s t h a t t h e m i n d " n a t u r a l l y l o ve s T r u t h . "15 I f t hi s s u p -p o s i t i o n is c o r r e c t , a n d I t h i n k i t is , p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s t d o c t r i n e s e v i d e n t l y a n -s w e r to m o t i v e s th a t a re s u f f i c ie n t ly p o t e n t t o o v e r r i d e t h e n o r m a l h u m a nd i st a s te f o r d e c l a ra t i o n s t h a t d o n o t m a k e s e n s e . C o n s e q u e n t l y , i n o r d e r t oe x p l a in t h e m e t e o r i c s u c ce ss o f p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s m a m o n g l i t e r a r y a c a d e m i c s ,w e n e e d t o as k w h a t p u r p o s e s a r e s e r v e d b y p o s t s t ru c t u r a l is t d o c t r i n e s . I na n s w e r i n g t h is q u e s t i o n , w e c a n c a ll p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s ts t h e m s e l v e s t o w i t n e s st h a t t w o v e r y l a r g e a n d i m p o r t a n t m o t i v e s f o r t h e i r d i s ti n c t iv e b e li e f s a r e t h ed e s i r e t o m i n i s t e r t o t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l s e l f - e st e e m o f c r it ic s a n d t h e d e s i r e t op e r p e t u a t e t h e a c t iv i t y o f t h e a c a d e m i c b u r e a u c r a c y .

B y p r o m o t i n g t h e d o c t r i n e s o f i n d e t e r m i n a c y a n d i n c o h e r e n c e ,p o s t s t ru c t u r a l i s m b o t h d e p r e c a t e s t h e a u t h o r i t y o f m e r e l y " s c i en t if ic " kn o w l -e d g e a n d a ls o p ro v i d e s t h e c r i t ic w i th a p r e e m p t i v e l y s u p e r i o r p e r s p e c t i v e o na ll p o s i t iv e f o r m u l a t i o n s b y l i te r a r y a u t h o r s . L i t e r a r y a u t h o r s n e c e s s a r i l y s e e kto p r o d u c e s o m e c o h e r e n t s t r u c t u r e o f m e a n i n g s , e v e n i f t h a t s t r u c t u r e isd e s i g n e d t o a r t ic u l a t e i n t e ll e c tu a l , e m o t i o n a l , a n d s o c i al c o n f l ic t s . W i t h o u t s o m ec o h e r e n t s t ru c t u r e o f m e a n i n g s , it w o u l d n o t b e p o ss ib l e t o r e p r e s e n t o r c o m -m u n i c a t e t h e c o n fl ic ts . I f t h e p r i m a r y p u r p o s e o f c r it i c i s m is t o p o i n t o u t t h e" p r o b l e m a t i c " c h a r a c t e r o f a ll s t r u c tu r e s o f m e a n i n g , c r it ic i sm a u t o m a t i c a l l yr is e s a b o v e a h u m b l e e x p l i c a t o r y f u n c t i o n a n d a t ta i n s a p o s i t i o n o f i n t e l l e c t u a la u t h o r i t y s u p e r i o r t o t h a t o f it s s u b je c t . T h e c r it ic k n o w s b e t t e r t h a n t h e a u -t h o r , a n d k n o w s b e t t e r in a w a y th a t a f f i r m s t h e s u p r e m e o n t o l o g i c a l s t a t us o ft h a t v e r y ac t i v it y i n w h i c h t h e c r i t i c h i m s e l f o r h e r s e l f is e n g a g e d : t h e g e n e r a -t i o n o f r h e t o r ic . T h u s , i n s u m m a r i z i n g t h e w h o l e d r i f t o f p o s t s t ru c t u r a l i s t t h e o r ya s i t is e x e m p l i f i e d i n h is a n t h o l o g y , j o s u 6 v . H a r a r i a r g u e s t h a t " t h e r e is n oa u t o n o m y p r o p e r t o t h e te x t, " a n d h e c e l e b r a t e s " t h e m o d e r n c r i t i ca l s t a n dw h i c h r e ca s t s c ri ti c i sm i n t o a p r i m a r y o p e r a t i o n .. .. F a r f r o m b e i n g c o n d e m n e dt o a s e c o n d a r y a c ti vi ty , c r i t ic i s m r e m a i n s , e v e n w h e n i t r e p e a t s a n d m i m e s at ex t , a p r o d u c t i v e a c t iv i t y . . . C r i t ic i s m h a s r e a c h e d a s ta g e o f m a t u r i t y w h e r ei t is n o w o p e n l y c h a l l e n g i n g t h e p r i m a c y o f l i te r a t u r e . ''16

I n a d d i t i o n t o its s e r v i c e i n m i n i s t e r i n g t o t h e s e l f - e s t e e m o f c r it i cs , t h ed o c t r i n e o f i n d e t e r m i n a c y h as a n i m p o r t a n t p r a c t ic a l f u n c t i o n i n t h e i n st it u -t io n a l e c o n o m y o f c ri t i c i sm . I f a ll te x ts a r e i n d e t e r m i n a t e , c r i ti c is m c a n c o n -t i n u e to g e n e r a t e r e a d i n g s w i th n o c o n c e r n f o r r e d u n d a n c y . T h e b a s i ci n s ti tu t io n a l p r o b l e m f o r w h i c h i n d e t e r m i n a c y p r o v i d e s a s o l u t i o n is i d e n t i -f i e d i n t h e p r e f a c e t o o n e o f t h e f o u n d i n g t ex t s o f A m e r i c a n a c a d e m i cp o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s m , J o n a t h a n C u l l e r 's Structuralist Poetics:

W h a t is l it e r a r y c r it i ci s m f o r ? W h a t is it s t as k a n d w h a t i s i ts v a lu e ? A s t h e n u m b e ro f in t e r p r e ti v e s tu d i es i n c r ea s e s to t h e p o i n t w h e r e r e a d i n g w h a t h a s b e e n w r i t t e n


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on any major author becomes an unmanageable labour, such questions forcethemselves more insistently upon anyone concerned with the study of literature ...What then are we to say of criticism? What more can it do?Culler's own answer to the question he poses is that by looking to "the Fren chstructuralists" we can free criticism fro m "an exclusively inte rpre tive role ....The study of literature, as opp osed to the perusal an d discussion of individualworks, would become an attempt to unde rsta nd the conventions which makeliterature possible." The effort to understand the conventions of literature isof course nothing new, but Culler's manifesto signals the beginning of thetheoretical industry that has now very comfo rtabl y established itself as an at-least-equal partn er with interpretive studies. On e of the distinguishing charac-teristics of this particular industry--a theoretical mo ve me nt that d efines itselfin the first place as a funct ion o f an academic bureaucracy--is already appar-ent in Culler's formulation: the idea that "the study of literature" can some-how be "opposed" to and operate inde pendent ly of "the perusal and discussionof individual works." Thus, while re co mm en di ng the Fre nch structuralists astheoret ical models, Culler tacitly acknowledges that the practical criticism gen-erated by this mode l has not bee n very good, but this deficiency in practicalapplication is not a matter o f much con cern to him. "Not that their criticism isitself a model which could or should be directly imp or ted and revere ntly imi-tated, but that through a reading of their works one may derive a sense ofcriticism as a coherent discipline and of the goals at which it might aim." The"goals" at which criticism might aim evidently have little to do with actuallyunderstanding literature; they have everything to do with constituting criti-cism as a doctrinally unified order that can consolidate its position as an aca-demic discipline--though in disregard for the putative subject of study thatprovided the initial raison d~ tre for the discipline. 17

Criticism can display its ind ep en den ce from empirical study in two distinctways: first, by simply ignoring literature altogether, and second, by affirmingthat constraints on interpretation derive not from the structure of determi-nate meanings in the text but only fr om the internal imperatives of the theor yitself. The first kind of independence can be exemplified by Ellen Rooney'sSeductive Reasoning. Roon ey is a second-gen erati on theorist; she explains thatshe began und erg rad uat e study in 1975. Th e subjects of study in her bo ok arefive critical theorists--Hirsch, Booth, Fish, de Man, a nd J a me s o n - a n d unlikeany of these mor e senior theorists, she gives no evidence of ever having ha dthe slightest interest in poems, plays, or nov els) s He r inter est in "literarythe ory '-- a term that appears in the subtide of her book--is purel y doctrinal. Ithas no apparent relevance to literature, at least not to specific literary texts.tn e second kind o f critical indepe nden ce can be exemplified by the work of J.Hillis Miller. In the preface to the third edition of the Norton critical editionof W uther ing H eights , Richard j . Dunn thus summarizes the largest import of


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5 2 A c a d e m i c Q u e s t io n s / S u m m e r 1 0 06

M i l le r 's c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e v o l u m e : " T h e r e is n o t , M i l le r i ns is ts , ' a s i n g l e se -c r e t t r u t h a b o u t Wuther ingHeigh t s , ' a n d t h u s h i s e ss ay , l ik e t h o s e b y J a c o b s a n dA r m s t r o n g , r e s is t s t h e r e d u c t i v e as it r e s p e c t s t h i s a s a n ' o v e r - r i c h ' t e x t , e v e ro p e n t o t h e p r o c e s s o f i n t e rp r e t a ti o n . " 1 9 I n a s im i l a r v e i n , b u t t a k i n g a b r o a d e rs c o p e , J a m e s B o n o o b s e r v e s th a t " t h e t r o p o l o g i c a l a n d r h e t o r i c a l d i m e n s i o n so f l a n g u a g e " e n s u r e f o r t e x ts " a m u l t ip l i c i ty o f m e a n i n g s a n d t h e p o s si b il it y o fc o n t i n u a l re in t e rpre ta t i on . "~~

I t is n o t d i f f i c u lt t o u n d e r s t a n d w h y p e o p l e i n t h e h u m a n i t i e s w o u l d w a n t t ob e l ie v e t h e b a s i c p o s t s t r u c t u r a l i s t d o c t r i n e s . I t is m o r e d i f f ic u l t to u n d e r s t a n dhow t h e y c o u l d b e l i e v e t h e s e d o c t r i n e s - - t h a t i s, to u n d e r s t a n d h o w t he y c o u l de n t e r t a i n s u c h n o t i o n s w i t h o u t s u f f e r in g f r o m a se v e re , v e r t i g i n o u s s e n s e o fu n r e a l it y . T o s o lv e t h is p r o b l e m , w e sh a ll n e e d t o c o n s i d e r t h e p e c u l i a r c o n d i -t i o n s in w h i c h a c a d e m i c l i t e ra r y c r it ic s p a s s t h e i r p r o d u c t i v e l iv e s. F o r p e o p l ew h o a r e s t r u g g l i n g f o r su rv iv a l i n a h a r s h , d a n g e r o u s e n v i r o n m e n t - - o r e v e n t op e o p l e i n in d u s t r ia l iz e d n a t i o n s w h o a r e a c t iv e ly e n g a g e d i n t h e w o r l d o f c o m -m e r c e , p r o d u c t i o n , a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n - d e c l a r a t i o n s t o t h e e f f ec t th a t l a n g u a g ec o n s t r u c t s t h e w o r l d w o u l d s c a r c e l y c o n s t i t u t e a d i s t i n c t i dea , m u c h l e s s ap l a u s ib l e p r o p o s i t i o n . F o r p e o p l e , i n c o n t ra s t , w h o h a v e b e e n t e c h n o l o g i c a l lya n d i n s t i t u t io n a l l y i n s u l a t e d f r o m a n y a ct iv e , c o n s c i o u s c o n c e r n w i t h t h e el-e m e n t a r y c o n d i t i o n s o f life , w h o s e a c tiv e , c o n s c i o u s c o n c e r n s h a v e t a k e n p l a c ea l m o s t w h o l ly w i t h in t h e c o n f i n e s o f a c a d e m i c i n s t i tu t i o n s , w h o s e s ta t u s a n dl iv e l i h o o d h a v e d e p e n d e d e x cl us iv e ly u p o n t h e q u a l i t y a n d c h a r a c t e r o f t h e i rr h e t o r i c a l e x c h a n g e s w i th t h e i r p r o f e s s o r s , t h e i r c o l l e a g u e s , a n d t h e i r s t u d e n t s ,a n d w h o s e p r o f e s s i o n a l s t a n d i n g w i t h i n t h e i n s t i t u t io n a s a w h o l e d e p e n d s ,t h e y fe el , o n s i m u l t a n e o u s l y d i s p a r a g i n g s c ie n ti fi c k n o w l e d g e w h i le p r o c l a i m -i n g t h a t r h e t o r i c i s t h e m a t r i x o f a ll m e n t a l l if e, t h e c a s e w o u l d b e q u i t e d i f fe r -e n t . F o r p e o p l e s u c h a s t h e s e , a n y d e c l a r a t i o n t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t t h e w o r l d i sb o t h i n d e t e r m i n a t e a n d e s se n ti al ly l i n g u is t i c i n c h a r a c t e r c o u l d h a r d l y h e l pb u t s t r i k e a d e e p , r e s p o n s i v e c h o r d .

W h a t is t h e a l t e rn a t i v e to u n r e a l i ty ? M y o w n a n s w e r i s b a s e d o n t w o p r i n -c i p l e s t h a t a r e n e c e s s a r y , I t h i n k , t o a l l r a t i o n a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g : t h e u n i t y o f t h en a t u r a l o r d e r , a n d t h e u n i t y o f k n o w l e d g e w i th i n t h e f ie ld o f n a t u r e . W e k n o wa s e s t a b l is h e d s c i en t if ic f a ct t h a t h u m a n b e i n g s a r e b i o l o g i c a l e n ti t ie s a n d t h a tt h e y h a v e e v o l v e d , j u s t li ke all o t h e r l i v in g c r e a t u r e s , t h r o u g h a p r o c e s s o f n a t u -r al s e l e ct io n th a t h as a d a p t e d t h e m - - b o d y a n d m i n d - - t o t h e w o r l d i n w h i c h t h e yliv e. T a k i n g t h e s e s i m p l e a n d r e la t iv e ly n o n c o n t r o v e r s i a l p r o p o s i t i o n s a s a s t ar t-i n g p o i n t , I sh a ll id e n t i f y f o u r l a r g e b i o lo g i c a l c o n c e p t s t h a t s h o u l d e n t e r i n t oa n y o b j e c ti v e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f l i t e r a tu r e . A f t e r o u t l i n i n g t h e s e p r i n c i p l e s , I s h al le x p l a in w h y r a t io n a l i t y it se l f r e q u i r e s u s t o c o m m i t o u r s e l v e s t o s o m e s u c h s e t o fc o n c e p t s , n o t j u s t a s h e u ri s ti c d e v i c es a m i d a p l u r al i ty o f s u c h d e v i ce s , b u t r a t h e ra s p r i n c i p l e s o f k n o w l e d g e t h a t n e c e s s a ri ly e x c l u d e o t h e r p r i n c i p l e s .

T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t b i ol o gi ca l c o n c e p t i s t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e o r g a n -i sm a n d i ts e n v i r o n m e n t . I s ha ll a rg u e t h a t in b o t h t h e h u m a n s c ie n c e s a n d t h e


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C a r r o l l 5 3

h u m a n i t i e s th i s r e l a t io n s h i p , a s a s t r u c t u r a l c o n c e p t , s h o u l d t a k e a p o s i t i o n o fh i e ra r c h ic a l p r io r i ty o v e r e v e ry o t h e r c o n c e p t . T h e r e l a ti o n b e t w e e n t h e o r g a n -i s m a n d its e n v i r o n m e n t is a m a t r i x c o n c e p t t h a t p r o v i d e s a n a l t e r n a t i v e t o t h em a t r i x c o n c e p t s a va i la b l e i n o t h e r c r it ic a l, p h i l o s o p h i c a l , a n d i d e o l o g i c a l s c h o o l ss u c h as p h e n o m e n o l o g y , M a rx i s m , F r e u d i a n i s m , d e c o n s t r u c t i o n , a n d N e w H is -t o ri c i sm . A s a m a t r i x c o n c e p t , t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e o r g a n i s m a n d i tse n v i r o n m e n t is t h e n e c e s sa r y p r e s u p p o s i t i o n f o r t h e p r i n c ip l e s o f p e r s o n a l p s y -c h o l o g y , s e x u a l a n d f a m i l y r e l a t io n s , s o c ia l o r g a n i z a t i o n , c o g n i t i o n , a n d l i n g u i s -t ic r e p r e s e n t a t i o n t h a t a r e b a s e d o n e v o l v e d h u m a n c h a ra c te r is t i cs .

T h e s e c o n d s p e c if ic a ll y b i o l o g i c a l c o n c e p t t h a t r e g u l a t e s m y t h i n k i n g is t h ei d e a t h a t i n n a t e p s y c h o l o g i c a l s t r u c t u r e s - p e r c e p t u a l , r a t i o n a l , a n d a f fe c ti ve - -h a v e e v o l v e d t h r o u g h a n a d a p t i v e p r o c e s s o f n a t u r a l s e l e c t io n a n d t h a t t h e s es t r u c t u r e s r e g u l a t e t h e m e n t a l a n d e m o t i o n a l l if e o f all l iv i n g o r g a n i s m s , in -c l u d i n g h u m a n b e i n g s. T h i s c o n c e p t s e t s it se l f i n i r re c o n c i l ab l e o p p o s i t i o n t ot h e i d e a t h a t h u m a n b e i n g s a r e b l a n k s la te s, t h a t t h e s t r u c t u r e o f m o t i v a t i o n sa n d c o g n i t i o n is i n f in i t el y m a l l e a b l e , a n d t h a t l a n g u a g e o r c u l t u r e p r o v i d e s a llq u a l i t a t i v e c o n t e n t a n d s t r u c t u r e f o r h u m a n e x p e r i e n c e .

T h e t h i r d b i o l o g i c a l c o n c e p t i s t h e i d e a t h a t a l l " p r o x i m a t e c a u s e s " o r i m -m e d i a t e h u m a n m o t i v e s a r e r e g u l a t e d b y t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f i n cl u s i v e f i t n e ss a s" u l t i m a t e c a u se . " T h i s c o n c e p t d o e s n o t i m p l y t h a t all o r g a n i s m s a t al l ti m e s ,a n d e s pe c ia l l y n o t a ll h u m a n o r g a n i s m s , a r e d i r ec t ly s e e k i n g t o m a x i m i z e t h e i rr e p r o d u c t i v e s u c c e s s . B u t i t d o e s i m p l y t h a t a l l i n n a t e h u m a n p s y c h o l o g i c a ls t r u c tu r e s h a v e , i n an c e s t ra l e n v i r o n m e n t s , e v o l v e d u n d e r t h e r e g u l a ti v e p o w e ro f r e p r o d u c t i v e s u c c e ss a n d t h a t t h e s e i n n a t e s t r u c t u r e s r e m a i n f u ll y a c ti v e att h e p r e s e n t t i m e . P e r h a p s t h e s in g l e m o s t i m p o r t a n t c o r o l la r y o f th i s p r i n -c i p l e , f o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f l it e r a r y an a l y s is , is t h a t r e p r o d u c t i v e s u c c e s s , i n it st w in a s p e ct s o f se x u al u n i o n a n d t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f s u c c es s fu l o f f s p r in g , i sc e n t r a l to h u m a n c o n c e r n s a n d t h u s t o l i te ra r y w o rk s . I t p r o v i d e s a n o r g a n iz -i n g p r in c i p l e t h a t c a n b e a d j u s t e d o r m o d i f i e d o r r e p r e s s e d ( at g r e a t c o s t) b u tt h a t c a n n o t s i m p l y b e i g n o r e d .T h e f o u r t h b i o l o g ic a l c o n c e p t is th e i d e a t h a t r e p r e s e n t a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g lit-e r a ry r e p r e s e n t a t i o n , is a f o r m o f " c o g n i t i v e m a p p i n g . " T h a t is , re p r e s e n t a -t i o n is a n e x t e n s i o n o f th e o r g a n i s m ' s a d a p t i v e o r i e n t a t i o n t o a n e n v i r o n m e n tt h a t is , i n t h e f ir s t p l a c e, s p a ti a l a n d p h y s ic a l. T h e c o n c e p t o f " m a p p i n g " is n o tm e r e l y a m e t a p h o r f o r a n a b s t r a c t c o g n i t i v e a c ti vi ty . A b s t r a c t a c ti v it ie s a r e,r a t h er , a n e x t e n s i o n o f t h e p r i m a r y c o g n i t i v e f n n c t i o n t h a t l o c a te s t h e o r g a n -i s m w i th i n i ts c o n c r e te , p h y s ic a l e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e c o n c e p t o f c o g n i t iv e m a p -p i n g is c o m m o n t o e v o l u t i o n a r y p s y c h o l o g y , n e u r o l o g y , li n g ui st ic s , a n d e t h o l o g y( t h e s c i e n c e t h a t c o n c e r n s i ts e l f w i t h t h e b i o l o g i c a l b a s is o f b e h a v i o r ) . T h ee v o l u t i o n a ry p sy c h o lo g i s ts J o h n T o o b y a n d L e d a C o s m i d e s o b s e r v e t h a t t h ew o r d " c o g n i t iv e " c an b e u s e d i n t w o q u i t e d i s t i n c t w a y s: to d e n o t e r e a s o n i l a ga s o p p o s e d t o e m o t i o n o r o t h e r n o n r a t i o n a l p r o c e s s e s , o r to d e n o t e " a n yp s y c h o l o g ic a l p r o c e ss ," i n c l u d i n g e m o t i o n a n d p e r c e p t i o n . 2~ I n a c c o r d a n c e


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5 4 A c a d e m i c Q u e s t i o n s / S u m m e r 1 9 96

w i t h t hi s s e c o n d u s a g e , I u s e " c o g n i t iv e m a p p i n g " t o r e f e r t o a n y r e p r e s e n t a -t i o n a l a ct iv it y, i n c l u d i n g t h e l i te r a r y r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s t h a t i n t e g r a t e r a t i o n a l ,e m o t i o n a l , a n d s e n so r y f u n c t i o n s . I w o u l d a r g u e t h a t t h e p r i m a r y p u r p o s e o fl i te r a t u r e is to r e p r e s e n t t h e s u b je c t i v e q u al it y o f e x p e r i e n c e . I n o p p o s i t i o n t ot h e p o s t -K a n t i a n n o t i o n t h a t c o g n i t iv e a n d l in g u i s ti c c a t e g o r ie s a r e a u t o n o -m o u s f o r m s t h a t c o n s t it u t e t h e i r o w n o b j e c ts , I m a i n t a i n , in c o m p a n y w i t hK a rl P o p p e r , K o n r a d L o r e n z , T o o b y a n d C o s m i d e s , J o h n B o w lb y , a n d o t h e re v o l u t i o n a r y t h e o r is t s , t h a t c o g n i t i v e a n d l i n g u i st i c c a t e g o r i e s h a v e e v o l v e d ina d a p t i v e r e l a t io n t o t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e y c o r r e s p o n d to t h e w o r l d n o t b e -c a u se t h e y " co n s t r u c t" t h e w o r l d i n a c c o r d a n c e w i th t h e i r o w n a u t o n o m o u s ,i n t e r n a l p r i n c i p l e s b u t b e c a u s e t h e i r i n t e r n a l p r i n c i p l e s h a v e e v o l v e d as a m e a n so f c o m p r e h e n d i n g a n a c t ua l w o r l d t h a t e xis ts i n d e p e n d e n t l y o f t h e c a t e go r ie s .

E v e r y t h i n g a c r it ic sa ys is s h a p e d a n d c o l o r e d b y d o c t r i n a l d e c i s i o n s o v e rp r i m a r y c a u s a l f o rc e s. A ll s p ec i f ic j u d g m e n t s a b o u t l i t e r a tu r e a n d c u l t u r e a r ec r uc ia ll y c o n s t r a i n e d b y p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s a s to w h e t h e r , f o r e x a m p l e , a ll te x tsi n a d v e r t e n t l y r e v ea l r e p r e s s e d s u b c o n s c i o u s c o n f li c ts , a l l e g o r iz e t h e s o c i o e c o -n o m i c c o n d i t io n s o f p r o d u c t i o n , e n a c t t h e t r i u m p h a l s e l f - a ff i r m a t i o n o f B e-i n g -I n - T h e- W o r l d , d i sp l ay th e i n d e t e r m i n a c y o f m e a n i n g i n a n e n d l e s s s e m i o t i cd i s se m i n a t io n , h e l p l es s l y r e p r o d u c e a n a u t o n o m o u s c u l t u ra l e p i s t e m e , o r re -f le c t t h e i n t e r a c t io n o f a n o r g a n i s m w i t h i t s e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e D a r w i n i a n h y -p o t h e s i s is f a r m o r e g e n e r a l a n d l es s r e st r i c t iv e t h a n t h e F r e u d i a n a n d t h eM a r x i a n ; i t a l l ow s f o r a m u c h g r e a t e r d i v e r s it y a n d s p e c i fi c i t y o f c o n c e r n s a n dm o t i v e s t h a n t h e H e i d e g g e r i a n ; in c o n t ra s t to b o t h t h e H e i d e g g e r i a n a n d t h eD e r r i d e a n , i t s i tu a t e s it s u l t i m a t e c a u sa l t e r m s w i t h i n t h e r e a l m n o t o f m e t a -p h y s ic a l d y n a m i c s b u t r a t h e r o f t h e n a t u r a l o r d e r ; a n d i n c o n t r a s t t o N e wH i s t o r i c i s m i t a ll ow s f o r a c a u s a l i n t e r a c t i o n b e t w e e n i n d i v i d u a l s a n d t h e l a r g e rc u l tu r a l o r d e r . T h e D a r w i n i a n p a r a d i g m d o e s n o t p r e s e n t i ts e lf a s a n a u t o n o -m o u s m e t a p h y s i c a l d i s c o u r s e t h a t is p u r e l y v e r b al i n c h a r a c t e r, a n d i t d o e s n o tp o s i t i o n i t s e lf i n e p i s t e m o l o g i c a l c o n f li c t w i t h e m p i r i c a l s t u d y . I t n e e d p r e s u p -p o s e n o c a u s al p r i n c i p l e s n o t a l r e a d y e s t a b l i s h e d a s v a l id s c ie n t if i c h y p o t h e s e s ,a n d i t c a n d e v e l o p a n d m o d i f y it s o w n e m p i r ic a l c o n s t r u c t s in a c c o r d a n c e w i t ht h e a d v a n c e o f p o s it i v e s c ie n t if i c k n o w l e d g e .

I f w e a r e o n l y n o w b e g i n n i n g t o g a i n a n a d e q u a t e s c i en t i fi c u n d e r s t a n d i n go f t h e s t ru c t u ra l a n d f u n c t io n a l p r o p e r t i e s o f h u m a n n a t u r e w i t h in t h e i r c o n -t e x t o f e v o l u t io n a r y a d a p t e d n e s s , i t s e e m s r e a s o n a b l e t o s u p p o s e t h a t l it er a-t u r e h a s , h is to r i ca ll y , o f f e r e d r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f e x p e r i e n c e t h a t h a v e b e e ni m p e r f e c t l y th e m a t i z e d w i t h in t h e t ex t s th e m s e l v e s . T o f o r m u l a t e t h is i d e a i n am o r e c o m p l e t e a n d a ls o a m o r e p o s i t iv e w a y, w e c a n s ay th a t l i t e r a tu r e g a i n sa c c e s s t o p r i m a l f o r c e s , t h a t it a s s i m i l a t e s t h e s e f o r c e s t o f i g u r a t i v e s t r u c t u r e s ,a n d t h a t s u c h s t r u c t u r e s c o n s t i t u t e a n i n t u i ti v e i m a g i n a t i v e s y n t h e s i s - -s e n s o r y ,a ff ec tiv e , a n d c o n c e p t u a l - t h a t o f t e n o u t r u n s s c i en t i fi c u n d e r s t a n d i n g . S o m es u c h s u p p o s i t i o n i n f o r m s a n y c ri t ic i s m t h a t d o e s n o t r e s t r ic t i ts e l f t o a n a l y z i n go r p a r a p h r a s i n g t ex ts w i t h i n t h e t e r m s o f t h e i r o w n o v e r t t h e m a t i c d e c l ar a -


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tions. For example, most psychoanalytic and Marxist cri t iques pre sup pos e thattexts emb od y psychological or ideological forces that can be expla ined onl y bytheoretical constructs that are not fully available to the a utho rs of the texts.

All theoretical systems are necessarily reductive. As E.O. Wilson maintains,"The hear t o f the scient if ic met hod is the reduc t ion of perceived ph en om en ato f und ame nta l , testable principles. "2~ Red uct ion can be true or false, andfalse red uct ion inevitably turns cri t icism into a pro cru ste an b ed-- impo singalien concepts in a way that distorts the structure of determinate meaningbuilt into any given text. Complaints of this sort are common and often well-fo un de d in respect to the work o f the various crit ical schools, such as Marx-i sm, psychoanalys i s , Heidegger ian phenomenology, and decons t ruc t ion . Iwould argue that the essential pro ble m in such schools of cri t icism is not theuse of systematic crit ical term inolo gy but rather the defective charac ter of thesystems at work. Insofar as any of these systems imposes an unnecessari lyrestrict ive or distort in g concept ion of the basic forces in the world, of hu ma nmotives, of the relation between the world and the mind, or o f the na ture oflanguage, that theoretical system will also necessarily impose false construc-t ions on the structure of meaning in any given text. If the paradigm I amprop osin g were to prove mor e responsive than others to the struct ure of mean-ing within l i terary texts, i t could do so only because i ts fou nda tio nal principlesanswer more adequately to the natural order within which, as the paradigmitself suppose s, all texts are cont ain ed.

N o t e s1. For papers presented at the conference that take a pluralistic stance, see Henry AshbyTurner, Jr., "Peter Novick and the 'Objectivity Question' in History," Academi c Ques -t ions (Summer 1995): 17-27; and Allan Megili, "Relativism, or the Different Senses ofObjectivity,"Academic Quest ions (Summer 1905): 33-39.2. For other declarations that evolutionary study must become the matrix for a unified

field of objective knowledge in the human sciences, see Edward O. Wilson, On H u m a nN a t u r e (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1978), 204;John Bowlby,At tach-ment and Loss , vol. 1, At t achment , 2nd ed. (New York: Basic Books, 1982), 174; andDerek Freeman, "Paradigms in Collision," Academi c Q ues ti ons (Summer 1002): 32. SinceWilson gave a talk at the 1004 NAS conference, the conference itself gave evidence ofthe underlying tension between the more traditional, pluralistic form of intellectualconservatism and the newer drive toward achieving unified knowledge by integratingthe social sciences and the humanities with biology.3. Meyer H. Abrams, Doing Things wi th Tex ts: Essays in Cri t ic i sm and Cri t ical Theory , ed.Michael Fischer (New York: W.W. Norton, 1989), 67.4. Annette Kolodny, "Dancing Through the Minefield: Some Observations on the Theory,Practice, and Politics of a Feminist Literary Criticism," in F e m i n i s m s : A n A n t h o l o g y o fLi terary Theory and Cri t ic i sm, ed. Robyn R. Warhol and Diane Price Herndl (NewBrunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1991), 110. Also see Wayne Booth, Crit ical Under-s t andi ng: The Powers and L i m i t s o f P l ura li sm (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979);Robert Alter, The Pleasures o f Re ad ing in an Ideological A ge (New York: Simon andSchuster, 1989), 206-218; and Daniel R. Schwarz, The Case f or a H um an i s t i c Poe ti cs(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991), 23-64. A linguisticized plural-


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ism appears in Richard Rorty's contention that the diverse views of language propoundedby Nietzsche, Dewey, Heidegger, and Derrida are each of them "only one more usefultruth about language" (Phi losoph ica l Papers, vol. 2, E ssay s o n H e id e g g e r a n d Oth ers [Cam-bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991], 4). John Stuart Mill provides the classicexemplar for the theory that most theories are true in what they affirm and false only inwhat they deny, Mil l o n B e n th a m a n d Co le r id g e , ed. F.R. Leavis (Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1980), 105, and 64-65, 101-09; and A u to b io g ra p h y , ed.Jack Stillinger(Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1969), 97-100. Melvin Konner, though adopting a pre-dominantly biological perspective, p ropounds a view similar to that of Mill ( T h e T a n g l e dW in g : B iolog ic a l Co n s t ra in ts o n th e H u m a n S p i r i t [New York: Henry Holt, 1982], xv).Another instance of pluralism with a scientific coloring can be found in Frederick Turner,N atu ra l C lass ic ism: F~says on Li tera ture a nd Sc ience (Charlottesville: University of Vir-ginia Press, 1992), xiii. For a critique of pluralism that associates it with deconst rucdveindeterminacy, see John Ellis, Against Deconstruc t ion (Princeton: Princeton UniversityPress, 1989), 154-57.5. For a discussion of the hierarchical relations among these disciplines, see E.O. Wilson,O n H u m a n N a t u r e , 7-10. Also see Karl Popper, Objec t ive Knowledge: An Evo lu t ionaryA p p ro a c h , rev. ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979), 289-301. For a discussionof the interaction among three distinct levels of research into the biological founda-tions of personality-evolutionary biology, behavioral genetics, and psychophysiology--see David Buss, "Toward a Biologically Informed Psychology of P e r s o n a l i t y , " J o u r n a l o fPersonali ty 58 (1990): 1-16. Buss's essay serves as the introduction to the whole jou rnalissue devoted to this topic.6. J. Hillis Miller, "Optic and Semiotic in 'Middlemarch,'" in George El io t , ed. Harold Bloom(New York: Chelsea House, 1986), 109.7. Michel Foucauh, "Nietzsche, Freud, Marx," trans. Alan D. Shrift, in Tra n s fo rmin g th eHermeneut ic Contex t : From Nie tzsche to Nancy , ed. Gayle L. Ormiston and Alan D. Schrift(Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990), 64.8. FredricJameson, P o s tmo d e rn ism , o r, t h e Cu l tu ra l Lo g ic o f La t e Ca p i ta l i sm (Durham, N.C.:Duke University Press, 1991), 218.9. Foucault, "Nietzsche, Freud, Marx," 64.I0. Using the term "postmodernism," John R. Searle describes the same doctrinal move-ment I am describing, and he registers the correlation between its political and philo-sophical aspects. He observes that along with their "explicitly leftist political agenda"postmodernists challenge "the very conceptions of rationality, truth, objectivity, andreality." See Searle, "Rationality and Realism: What Is at Stake?" D a e d a l u s (Fall 1993):56, 55. Also see James Q. Wilson, "The Drama of the College Wars," A c a d e mic Qu e s t io n s(Fall 1993): 16-18. Richard Levin makes arguments similar to those of Searle and Wil-son and applies them more particularly to literary studies ("The New Interdisciplinarityin Literary Criticism," in After Poststruc tura l ism: In terd isc ip l inari ty a nd Li terary Thetrty ,ed. Nancy Easterlin and Barbara Riebling [Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press,1993]).11. Paul A. Cantor, "Stephen Greenblatt's New Historicist Vision," A c a d e mic Qu e s t io n s (Fall1993): 33-34. Describing a statement by Geoffrey ttartman, Roger Kimball offers aformula similar to the one I present here. Hartman, he says, offers a blending of "thehighly questionable with the portentously trite" ( T e n u r e d R a d i c a l s : H o w P o l i t i c s H a sCo rrup te d Ou r H ig h e r E d u c a t io n [New York: HarperPerennial, 1991], 110).12. Foucault, "Nietzsche, Freud, Marx," 64.13. Jacques Derrida, M a rg in s o f P h iloso ph y , trans. Alan Bass (Chicago: University of ChicagoPress, 1982), 9, 251.

14. Foucauh, "Nietzsche, Freud, Marx," 64, 65.15. Samuel Johnson, "An Account of the Life of Mr. Richard Savage, Son o f the Earl Rivers,"in Prose an d Poetry , ed. Mona Wilson (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1967), 52.16. Josu6 v. Harari, "Critical Factions/'Critical Fictions," in Textual Strategies: Perspectives inPost-Structuralist Criticism, ed. Josu6 v. Harari (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press,1979), 70.


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1 7. Jo n a th a n C u l l e r , S t ru c tu ra l is t P o e ti cs : S t ru c tu ra l i sm , L in g u i s t i c s , a n d th e S tu d y o f L i t e ra tu re( I thaca , N.Y. : Corn el l U nivers ity Press , 1975) , v ii , v ii i. Gera ld G raffo bse rves that "wh ereq u an t i ta t iv e ' p ro d u c t io n ' o f sch o la r sh ip an d c r i ti c ism i s a ch ie f measu re o f p ro fess io n a lach iev emen t , n a r ro w can o n s o f p ro o f , ev id en ce , lo g ica l co n s is t en cy , an d c l a r ity o f ex-press ion have to go" (Li tera ture Against I t se l f : L i terary Ideas in Modern Socie ty [Chicago :Univ ersi ty of C hicag o Press, 1979], 97).18. E l len Roon ey , Seduct ive Reason ing : Plu ra l i sm as the Prob lemat ic o f Contemporary Li terar yTheory (I thaca, N.Y.: Co rne ll Unive rsi ty Press, 1989).19. Richard J . Dun n , p reface to W u th e r in g He ig h ts : A n A u th o r i ta t i v e Te x t, S e l e ct ed P o ems , w i thEasays in Crit icism, by Emily Bron t~ , ed . Wil l iam M. Sale , J r . an d R ich ard J . Du nn , 3 rded. (New York: W.W. Norton, 1990), v i i i .2 0. Jam es J . B o n o , " S cien ce , D i sco u r se , an d L i t e ra tu re : T h e R o le /R u le o f M etap h o r inScience," in Li tera ture and Sc ience: Theory and Pract ice , ed . S tu a r t P e te r f r eu n d (B o s to n :No rthea s tern Univers i ty Press , 1990) , 66 .2 1. Jo h n T o o b y an d L ed a C o smid es , " T h e P sy cho lo gica l F o u n d a t io n s o f C u l tu re , " in T heA d a p te d M in d : E v o lu t io n a ry P sy c ho lo g y a n d the Ge n e ra tion o f Cu l tu re , e d . J e r o m e H . B arkow,Led a Cosmides , and Jo hn To oby (New York : Ox ford Univers i ty Press, 1992) , 65 .22. E.O. W ilson, On H u m a n N a t u r e, 1 1 .

F r o m a n i n te r n e t a n n o u n c e m e n t f o r a 2 5 J u n e 1 9 9 6 s e m i n a ri n T h e o r y a n d C u l t u r e a t P e n n s y l v a n i a S t a te U n i v e r s i t y .

P u r p o s e : H o w d o s o c ia l c o d e s w o r k t o s h a p e t h e i d e n t i t i e s o f s u b -j e c ts ? H o w c a n s u bj ec t s m a k e r o o m t o r e d e f i n e t h e m s e l v e s , in d i vi d u -a l ly a n d c o ll e ct iv e ly ? T h e s e h a v e b e e n p e r s i s t e n t q u e s t i o n s i n a w i d er a n g e o f c o n t e m p o r a r y t h e o r e t i c a l d i s c o u r s e s - f r o m a c ti v is m , fe m i -n i sm , p e d a g o g y a n d p e r f o r m a n c e s t ud i e s to p h i l o s o p h y , p o s t c o lo -n ia l s t u d ie s , q u e e r t h e o r y , a n d r h e t o r i c . A t t h e . . . S e m i n a r . . .p a r t i c i p a n t s w i ll e x p l o r e t h e m y r i a d o f w a ys t h a t p e r f o r m a t i v i t y a l-l ow s e m b o d i e d s u b j e c ts a n d s o c ia l g r o u p s t o r e a r t i c u l a t e t h e i r i d e n t i-t ie s in r e l a t i o n t o r e g u l a t o r y s o c ia l n o r m s .

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Academic Questions Volume 9 Issue 3 1996 [Doi 10.1007%2Fbf02683060] Joseph Carroll -- Pluralism, Poststructuralism, And Evolutionary Theory