Dear Terry,
Come on, my friend. I understand the etymology and dictionary
definition of the word. I've said that in three posts now. I have
also stated clearly that I use the word in the same extended sense
that such scholars and thinkers as Etienne Wenger and Jean Lave do,
and many more.
As I wrote in my last note, if you can find a better word, please do.
I have stated what I mean by the term: "any person with reasonable
rights by virtue of being a human being involved in a situation where
he or she has a stake."
Because the larger context of this conversation involves the issues
of law and ethics, my earlier referred to such legal scholars as Ruth
Buchanan, Rebecca Johnson, or Robert Cover.
If you've got something to say about the larger issues I raise, I'll
welcome the comment. If you goal is to state that the word
"legitimate" has a specific technical meaning and a specific
etymology, I agree. You're right.
Some of us nevertheless use the word in an extended sense. That
grandest of all dictionaries, the Oxford English Dictionary, notes
that several of the earliest English usages do not derive from the
usage in law. On this, the OED states, "Etymologically, the word
expresses a status which has been conferred or ratified by some
authority; = LEGITIMATED. In English, however, it has taken the place
of the older LEGITIME, and even in the earliest examples shows no
trace of the original participial sense."
I am using the word in a current usage that the OED defines as: "In
extended use: valid or acceptable; justifiable, reasonable."
If you want to use another word, feel free. I have been using the
term legitimate in its extended use. In the context of wicked
problems, the idea is the important issue.
Yours,
Ken
Terry Love wrote:
Legitimate is direct from 'legalis' L - law
Legitimation and law _always_ in the limit depends on force - the
ability for one constituency to _enforce_ its choice of laws on
others. Ethics provides a commentary.
('Priviledge - 'private law' - Agre's article on conservatism
addresses this well.)
--
Prof. Ken Friedman
Institute for Communication, Culture, and Language
Norwegian School of Management
Oslo
Center for Design Research
Denmark's Design School
Copenhagen
+47 46.41.06.76 Tlf NSM
+47 33.40.10.95 Tlf Privat
email: [log in to unmask]
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