Indeterminacy

Conceptual Overview and Discussion

Different philosophers and social theorists have taken the notion of indeterminacy to mean that there are many unknown meanings to factors that shape social reality. Indeterminacy can be conceived as similar to ambiguity when applied to the interpretation of texts. For instance, deconstruction theorists such as Jacques Derrida have applied the notion of indeterminacy to question the fundamental oppositions in Western philosophy. According to David Clines, Willard Quine established the inde-terminacy-of-translation thesis to explain that one cannot rely on the notion that the meanings of particular words are the same across cultures. In effect, the meaning found in a particular usage or translation of words depends on both the context within which a word is used as well as the intention of the user of the word. For Quine, the meanings of words are determined not so much by the user as they are by the general usage of a word within a culture. In essence, accounting for indeterminacy can reveal alternative interpretations as well as introduce novelty into meaning-making processes.

Indeterminacy has increasingly been used to emphasize the importance of exploring underlying factors that may contribute to actions taken by individual actors. The understanding of the nature of particular actions taken is dependent on the intentionality of language and meaning within complex social contexts. Indeterminacy questions the assertion that causality can be explained through reductionism (often referred to as determinism), which asserts that the relationship between cause and effect is unidirectional rather than dynamic. For example, determinism would suggest that there is a positive relationship between income level and one's intellect. If one's intellect is regarded as higher than most people's, then it follows that one's income will be higher as well. Although seemingly trivial, this example of a unidirectional cause-and-effect relationship does not account for a multitude of factors that can contribute to one's income. For instance, how intellect was measured and in what circumstances a higher income is desirable should be questioned. In effect, factors that contribute to understanding the relationship between intellect and income are indeterminate.

Anthropologist and communications theorist Gregory Bateson developed a vast body of knowledge [Page 455]by relying on the certainty of indeterminacy within biological and social systems. Bateson grounded his theoretical premises by questioning the epistemological fallacies associated with logical empiricism that gave rise to biological determinism. Within communication studies, Bateson focused attention on the idea that information processing requires the identification and distinction of differences that exist within systems. However, for Bateson indeterminacy is found within systems that contain the possibility that it is a difference that makes a difference, meaning that distinctions within systems can lead to novelty and the emergence of factors contributing to social phenomenon. In effect, factors that influence the processing of information rely on indeterminacy, and it is a set of parameters that establish social order rather than the unidirectional relationship of these factors. Bateson's theories have given rise to new fields of study within the natural and social sciences and have questioned the preeminence of logical positivism within the social sciences.

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