John Benjamins Publishing Company
Living with Manny’s dangerous idea
Abstract
Daniel Dennett, inDarwin’s Dangerous Idea, argues that natural selection is a universal acid that eats through other theories, because it can explain just about everything, even the structure of the mind. Emanuel (Manny)Schegloff (1987) in ‘Between Micro and Macro: Context and Other Connections’ opposes the importation of ‘macro’ (sociological/sociolinguistic) factors into the ‘micro’ (interaction analysis), suggesting that one mightreversethe strategy instead. Like Darwin, he is coy about whether he just wants his own turf, but the idea opens up the possibility ofinteractional reductionism. I will argue against interactional reductionism on methodological grounds: Don’t bite off more than you can chew! Instead I’ll support the good old Durkheimian strategy of looking for intermediate variables between systems of different orders. I try and make the case with data from Rossel Island, Papua New Guinea.
Abstract
Daniel Dennett, inDarwin’s Dangerous Idea, argues that natural selection is a universal acid that eats through other theories, because it can explain just about everything, even the structure of the mind. Emanuel (Manny)Schegloff (1987) in ‘Between Micro and Macro: Context and Other Connections’ opposes the importation of ‘macro’ (sociological/sociolinguistic) factors into the ‘micro’ (interaction analysis), suggesting that one mightreversethe strategy instead. Like Darwin, he is coy about whether he just wants his own turf, but the idea opens up the possibility ofinteractional reductionism. I will argue against interactional reductionism on methodological grounds: Don’t bite off more than you can chew! Instead I’ll support the good old Durkheimian strategy of looking for intermediate variables between systems of different orders. I try and make the case with data from Rossel Island, Papua New Guinea.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Schegloff and the founding of a discovering discipline 1
- A discussion with Emanuel A. Schegloff 15
- A discussion with Emanuel A. Schegloff, Part 2 55
- Inferring the purpose of a prior query and responding accordingly 61
- Responses to Wh-question challenges 79
- Extended responding 105
- Accepting remote proposals 125
- Interactional uses of acknowledgment tokens 145
- Selection principles of other-initiated repair turn formats 167
- Referring to persons 189
- Out of context 207
- Out of context 211
- Opening up closings in Russian 231
- Particles and epistemics 273
- On the practical re-intentionalization of body behavior 299
- What a difference forty years make 315
- Living with Manny’s dangerous idea 327
- Reply to Levinson 351
- Subject index 355
- Name index 359
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Schegloff and the founding of a discovering discipline 1
- A discussion with Emanuel A. Schegloff 15
- A discussion with Emanuel A. Schegloff, Part 2 55
- Inferring the purpose of a prior query and responding accordingly 61
- Responses to Wh-question challenges 79
- Extended responding 105
- Accepting remote proposals 125
- Interactional uses of acknowledgment tokens 145
- Selection principles of other-initiated repair turn formats 167
- Referring to persons 189
- Out of context 207
- Out of context 211
- Opening up closings in Russian 231
- Particles and epistemics 273
- On the practical re-intentionalization of body behavior 299
- What a difference forty years make 315
- Living with Manny’s dangerous idea 327
- Reply to Levinson 351
- Subject index 355
- Name index 359
