ABSTRACT
The embrace of pluralism in consumer research raises a myriad of philosophical and methodological questions concerning the relationships among different paradigmatic orientations and their respective knowledge claims. The terms of this embrace have been scripted in modernist terms that privilege research narratives expressing consensus and convergence while rendering problematic those narratives reporting on dissensus and conflicts of interpretations. We argue that this predisposition toward a logic of convergent validation has denuded critical pluralism of its radical, status quo challenging properties. Our discussion draws from Derrida’s concept of différance to show that the systematic exploration of paradigmatic diversity can be used to create a reflexive disciplinary conversation about consumer behaviour. This conversation would be attuned to the panoply of social and theoretical interests that are marginalised by any one paradigmatic account. A postmodern logic is developed that highlights the narratological underpinnings of research paradigms and the dynamic of inclusion/exclusion that operates in their research narratives. This post-modern approach revitalises the widely discussed Kuhnian concepts of paradigms, Gestalt switches, and incommensurability and provides a powerful alternative logic for conceptualising paradigmatic pluralism in consumer research. We also discuss how a postmodern conception of pluralism can foster inter-paradigmatic dialogues that contribute to enriched theoretical accounts of consumption phenomena and offer a more reflexive alternative to ritualised statements of limitations. Of course, we could be lying about all of this. This chapter could well be almost anything: a secret message from another galaxy, a pornographic story, a tortured voice emanating from the lunatic fringe of academe, or some combination of them all, kind of like those perverse postmodern double coded alliterative narratives that Stephen Brown writes. The only way that you’ll ever know the real ‘Truth’ is to read on….
