Changes

:::Even though Sokal might have, ahem, "shwed" something about the editors of one particular journal in one particular instance, is that really enough to bolster an argument that an entire literary, intellectual and cultural movement has been, as the section heading reads, "discredited?" [[User:PeterF|PeterF]] 20:00, 3 November 2009 (EST)

:::Even though Sokal might have, ahem, "shwed" something about the editors of one particular journal in one particular instance, is that really enough to bolster an argument that an entire literary, intellectual and cultural movement has been, as the section heading reads, "discredited?" [[User:PeterF|PeterF]] 20:00, 3 November 2009 (EST)

::::Social Text is not generally considered a leading journal in the field, in large part because of it not being peer-reviewed at the time of the Sokal Affair. Whilst Sokal has critiqued aspects of postmodernism, this is no more than has been done by many others and will continue to be done. It is also but another example of the criticism that is constantly thrown back and forth between proponents of different schools of thought. One essentially flawed paper that got through is not equal to stating that an entire of school of thought is fundamentally flawed, this was just his opinion and it said no more than others already had. The only real thing you could say came out of it was that it highlighted the debate, rather than being a winning move in it. And even to suggest the staff at Social Text were incompetent is going a bit far since the journal was not peer-reviewed at the time. The editors have even said they had their doubts about the article, but the purpose of the journal was to allow people to present their ideas. Some have even criticised Sokal, saying that him submitting his paper to such a journal was more a case of deceit on his part than an exposure of any significant flaws on the part of the editors. By all means the Sokal affair is worthy of mention here, but it has been attributed far more importance than it deserves. Postmodernism (a very loose term) still thrives to this day in a variety of fields. [[User:DWiggins|DWiggins]] 20:03, 3 November 2009 (EST)

::::Social Text is not generally considered a leading journal in the field, in large part because of it not being peer-reviewed at the time of the Sokal Affair. Whilst Sokal has critiqued aspects of postmodernism, this is no more than has been done by many others and will continue to be done. It is also but another example of the criticism that is constantly thrown back and forth between proponents of different schools of thought. One essentially flawed paper that got through is not equal to stating that an entire of school of thought is fundamentally flawed, this was just his opinion and it said no more than others already had. The only real thing you could say came out of it was that it highlighted the debate, rather than being a winning move in it. And even to suggest the staff at Social Text were incompetent is going a bit far since the journal was not peer-reviewed at the time. The editors have even said they had their doubts about the article, but the purpose of the journal was to allow people to present their ideas. Some have even criticised Sokal, saying that him submitting his paper to such a journal was more a case of deceit on his part than an exposure of any significant flaws on the part of the editors. By all means the Sokal affair is worthy of mention here, but it has been attributed far more importance than it deserves. Postmodernism (a very loose term) still thrives to this day in a variety of fields. [[User:DWiggins|DWiggins]] 20:03, 3 November 2009 (EST)