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Becoming comfortable on unsteady ground: Knowledge, perspective, and the science of politics Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Duvall, Timothy Joesph, 1966- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 02/10/2021 07:46:29 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/282333 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfihn master. UMI fibns the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter &ce, v«^e others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. 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Contact UMI dkectly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 BECOMING COMFORTABLE ON UNSTEADY GROUND: KNOWLEDGE, PERSPECTIVE, AND THE SCIENCE OF POLITICS by Timothy Joseph Duvall Copyright © Timothy Joseph Duvail 1997 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1997 UMI Number: 9729507 Copyright 1997 by Duvall, Timothy Joseph All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9729507 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against miauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ® GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Timothy Joseph Duvall entitled Becoming Comfortable on Unsteady Ground: Knowledge, Perspective, and the Science of Politics and recommend that It be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requl^meni) for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy ij my Carv J. Nederman Date e Peterson Date' 4loft7_ Timothy w\Luke Date Date Date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my directwn axipjrecommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requir/meiit i Dlsserta m 0on Director Date Gary J. Nfe erman 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfiUment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED; 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have many people to thank as my 11 years as an undergraduate and a graduate student come to a close. The road has been long and its passage has been eased by many people. I would like to thank my parents and my many siblings for their continued support of my academic goals. Thank you to Jerry and Jane Moffett as well. I would also like to thank the members of my committee: Spike Peterson, Tim Luke, and Gary Nederman. Spike has been critical of me and tough on me, particixlarly with my use of language. Her attention to detail has improved this dissertation. Tim's deep substantive concerns and constant attempts to get me to read between the lines of philosophies of science have enriched this dissertation immensely. And Gary, the chair of my committee, has always been tremendously supportive of me and yet he has never shied away from providing me with sharp criticism of my work and sound suggestions for its improvement. This, I think, is an obvious sign of an exceptional teacher and mentor. Most of all, I would like to thank my excellent friend Paul Dotson. Paul has read this dissertation in its entirety (more than once) and he has consistently offered me detailed advice on how I might improve it. I have incorporated so many of his comments into this dissertation that I could not possibly thank him in every case. To do so would litter the body of the dissertation with footnotes thanking Paul. This dissertation would have suffered tremendously without his brilliance, insight and ability' to read my mind. Thank you, my friend. Other friends have also helped me with this project and over the years. I want to thank: Scott Nelson for his constructive criticism as I struggled with deciding on my topic and for his insights on Donna Haraway; Mike Walsh for reading parts of the dissertation and for always giving me the confidence to continue; Laura Parisi, Larry Imwalle and Jeff Gomtassel for helping me with the literature in the fields of International Relations and Comparative Politics; my cycling partners, Greg Mondo, Christine Monda, and Scott Huddleston, for enduring my seemingly incessant chatter about my dissertation on those long rides; Dolores Stuart for her attentive ear and creative insights; Doug Borer for his professional advice and friendship; Pat McGovem for always expressing interest in my work and for all those pints o' Guimiess; and Roxanne Payton, Vickie Healey and Denise Allyn for running an excellent, efficient and pleasant departmental office. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Jody Moffett, for her love, support, intelligence, and patient endurance. Jody has helped me think more clearly with her tough and insightful questions and she has helped me to grow and to become a better person in the process. I only wish I could emulate her. And, of course, I must thank our cats (the late Jearmie Genius, the Zodilus, the ScatterBrain, the ToughGustomer and the SnackBoy) for always keeping me company as I pecked away at the keyboard and for helping me to find meaning in my life. 5 DEDICATION To my parents, Paul and Nona DuvalL My father is a model of patience and goodness and I wish more people in this world were like him. I got my iconoclasm from my mother and I would like to thank her for that. The topic of this dissertation was, in many ways, inspired by her. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 8 INTRODUCTION 10 I. POSITIVIST POLITICAL SCIENCE: THE QUEST FOR SCIENTIFIC LEGITIMACY 15 Introduction 15 The Science of Politics 19 The Behavioral Persuasion 35 Philosophy of Social Science Interlude: Positivism 48 Postbehavioralism 54 Philosophy of Social Science Interlude: Postpositivism 61 Conclusion 68 II. POSTPOSmVIST PROTESTATIONS AND HERMENEUTIC CONSCIOUSNESS 70 Introduction 70 Truth and Method 78 Hermeneutics and the Discipline 90 Conclusion 106 III. STRANDED BETWEEN MODERNITY AND POSTMODERNITY: THE JANUS FACE OF A CRITICAL POLITICAL SCIENCE 112 Introduction 112 Critical Theory 115 Methodology 116 Weber's Influence 120 Phenomenology 122 Language and Hermeneutics 123 Deep Hermeneutics 126 Communicative Action 133 Critical Social Science 138 Habermas, Fay and Critical Political Science 148 Conclusion 154 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS~Confz>7Me<f rV. POSTMODERN POWER/POLITICS 161 Introduction 161 A Portrait of Postmodemity 166 Foucault and Derrida 183 Conclusion 195 V. FEMINIST INSIGHTS: HELPING US UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION OF POLITICAL SCIENCE 201 Introduction 201 Feminism and Postmodemity 208 The Feminist Standpoint and Situated Knowledges 225 Conclusion 243 VI. SUMMARIES AND CONCLUSIONS 250 WORKS CITED 268 8 ABSTRACT This dissertation critically appraises the scientific identity of the discipline of political science. In it, I argue that in spite of the proclamations indicating the death of positivism, the spirit of positivism still reigns in the discipline's construction of science. The positivist state of the discipline carries with it, among other things, a belief in a world "out there" to be studied, understood and known completely. This entails faith that fact and value, subject and object, icnower and known can all be reliably separated and that neutral and objective knowledge can build on itself in a progression toward the truth of political affairs. Mainstream political scientists, the bulk of the discipline's members, I contend, still embrace this positivist view of the world, a view that includes ontological and epistemological presuppositions that 1 find to be untenable. In support of my conviction 1 appeal to the hermeneutic perspective that Heidegger and Gadamer encourage and connect it to the critical theory approach of Habermas and Fay, to the postmodern approach of Derrida and Foucault, and to various feminist perspectives. My aim is to (re)construct the scientific identity of the discipline in ways that are epistemologically and ontologically more tenable for what I take to be a complicated social and political world.