Two alternatives to representationalism
pp. 49-72
in: , The shame of reason in organizational change, Berlin, Springer, 2011Abstract
Chapter 2 suggested that the problems associated with rationality must be regarded as problems that are intrinsically linked to representationalism and that they manifest themselves as deception and exclusion. Another conclusion was that the problems of organization studies with rationality are very similar to the problems that philosophy identifies around rationality. This affinity provides a rationale for consulting philosophers in the course of a discussion of problematic rationality in organisation studies. Before Levinas will be consulted in Chapters 4 and 5, we turn in this Chapter 3 to organisational scientists who are guided by Foucault's and Derrida's postmodernism, and then to those who are inspired by Heidegger and Wittgenstein. The focus of attention is directed to the question in what way those philosophical currents help organizational scientists in combating representationalism and its concomitant manifestations deception and exclusion. It turns out that, as to deception, both the Foucault/Derrida orientation and the Heidegger/Wittenstein orientation offer organisation scientists some help in unmasking representationalism and unjustified knowledge-claims. As to the countering of the exclusion which is caused by representationalism the contributions of both philosophical currents are less convincing. In Chapter 6 a comparison will be performed between these contributions and Levinas's alternative for representationalism.