From Fragmentation to Configuration

In: Policy sciences: integrating knowledge and practice to advance human dignity ; the journal of the Society of Policy Scientists, Band 2, Heft 4, S. 439-446

Abstract

The rapid emergence of the policy sci conception is a consequence of profound changes in the modern world, & in turn is affecting public & private decision. In broad outline European civilization has passed from a high level of homogeneity to increasing fragmentation, & more recently toward a new & comprehensive configurative outlook. (1) The diff'iation of the modern world fostered the fragmentation of intellectual life. It reduced the relative number of men of knowledge who gave attention to the map of knowledge as a whole, or to the soc consequences & policy implications of sci & scholarship. (2) At a later state of diff'iation specialists attain a high level of involvement in the policy processes of society. Increasingly they utilize a configurative approach to the advancement & application of knowledge. (3) At first, special & exclusive interests are multiplied by diff'iation & fragmentation. As the aggregate impact of men of knowledge expands, particular demands are made more universal. This is a by-product of coalition formation. (4) Configurative ways of thinking do not necessarily result in effective control by champions of democratic & peaceful policy aims unless genuine freedom of access to knowledge--to data banks--is maintained, realistic common interests are unlikely to be defined either by policy sci'ts or decisionmakers. Modified HA.