Rob Schaap wrote:
>
>
>
> centre = middle point - of which one entity may have a maximum of but one.
>
Some metaphors are _really_ dead and can't be wrenched back to life like
this. In all but the narrowly (euclidean) sense of the word there can
clearly be many centers. Whether that is such an astounding or
paradigm-changing discovery or not is anothe question. The main
difference between "polycentric" and "many-centered" is that the former
conceals implied analytic assumptios that may not hold or even be
formulable. Any group existence (even of a totalitarian state or
"party") is clearly many-sided -- e.g., some analyses of Germany in the
1930s could be profoundly true and interesting even though they
abstracted wholly from Nazism as party or state.
Carrol
