RUTGERS, Mark R <br/><br/>
Splitting the universe :  on the relevance of dichotomies for the study of public administration 

 - Thousand Oaks :  SAGE,  March 2001 
<br/><br/> Traditionally, the politcs/administration dechotomy is referred to in the study of public administration as the founding dichotomy. Debates on its tenability are as old as its dicovery . I the arguments put forward, however, no attiontion is paid to the epistemological nature of dichotomies. This article tries to fill this gap. It is usually  assumed that dichotomies  have a cotnraditoctory nature .By looking of the at the logic of contradictions, and arguments relating to use of logicl practice, it is concluded that this is a falce assumption. They are to be interpreted as conceptual constructs with an idelal-typical status. This reintermpretation of the nature of dichotimies helps to clarify the debates on the politics/admninstration dichotomy. It implies, for instatnce, that refeicting the dichotomy because of tis condradctory or unrealistic nature is misguided