Communication research and the idea of process

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Abstract
The term “process” admits of two definitions in the philosophy of science: one based on a 19th century mechanistic view, the other consistent with quantum relativistic notions. Scholars in speech communication have misused these essentially contradictory definitions. Methodological notions have often been based on a deterministic view of cause while, at the same time, definitions of communication have been based on Whitehead's view of reality as “becoming.” As a result, theory and research have been inconsistent. To implement the contemporary notion of “process,” ideas of methodological rigor based on causal determinism must be substituted by notions of carefulness based on acknowledgement of the observer's involvement in his own observations.

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