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I have been very interested in the discussion on postmodernism and am greatful that we can discuss such philosophical topics on this bulletin board. I would like to suggest people read Ian Hacking's Book "The social construction of what?" Published in 1999 by Harvard university press. Its written in good english [unlike many postmodernist writers who want to transcend the barrier of lucidity] and places postmodernism very close to the concerns of evidence based practice. Hacking notes that many postmodernists write their thick volumes of text to argue the following: 1. X need not have existed 2. X is quite bad 3. We would be much better if X is done away with, or at least radically transformed. If I let X be a medical problem brought by a patient I encounter in my GP surgery, then the above argument seems fine to me. If, however, I let X be "reality" then I am at odds with the argument. Furthermore if I am told that "X need not have existed" is equivalent to " X does not exist", the I am also at odds with the argument. I find many post modernists bristle when I claim that a bursting gallbladder is not socially constructed - particularly when I tell them of my experience: Once I was called to do a house call at 3am. "Please come quick!" cried a woman at the other end of the phone. She was a student doing a PHD in sociology and despite the cost she was adamant I should visit. So I did. As I walked in the door I saw her clutching her upper abodomen in some pain (it was an inflammed gallbladder as it turned out) and saying "I tried to desconstruct my pain all night but couldn't". cheers Dr Marjan Kljakovic Senior Lecturer in General Practice Wellington School of Medicine University of Otago PO Box 7343 Wellington South New Zealand Tel 64-4-385 5995 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%