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This volume presents twelve original papers on the idea that moral objectivity is to be understood in terms of a suitably constructed social point of view that all can accept. The contributors offer new perspectives, some sympathetic and some critical, on constructivist understandings - Kantian or otherwise - of morality and reason.

Ethical constructivism holds that truths about the relation between rationality, morality, and agency are best understood as constructed by correct reasoning, rather than discovered or invented. Unlike other metaphors used in metaethics, construction brings to light the generative and dynamic dimension of practical reason. On the resultant picture, practical reasoning is not only productive but also self-transforming, and socially empowering. The main task of this volume is to illustrate how constructivism has substantially modified and expanded the agenda of metaethics by refocusing on rational agency and its constitutive principles. In particular, this volume identifies, compares and discusses the prospects and failures of the main strands of constructivism regarding the powers of reason in responding to the challenges of contingency. While Kantian, Humean, Aristotelian, and Hegelian theories sharply differ in their constructivist strategies, they provide compelling accounts of the rational articulation required for an inclusive and unified ethical community.

Constructivismabout practical judgments, as I understand it, is the notion that our true normative judgments represent a normative reality, while denying that that reality is independent of our exer-cise of moral and practical judgment. The Kantian strain of practical constructivism (through Kant himself, John Rawls, Christine Korsgaard, and others) has been so influential that it is tempting to identify the constructivist approach in practical domains with the Kantian development of the out-look. In this essay I explore a somewhat different variety of practical constructivism, which I callAristotelian Constructivism. My aim is to establish conceptual space for this form of constructivism by indicating both in what ways it agrees with its Kantian counterparts and in what ways it differs. I argue that Aristotelian Constructivism is on one sense more faithful to the constructivist enterprise than the Kantian varieties, in that its understanding of both the establishment of practical truthandthe vindication of the theory itself is constructivist.

Intro -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Chapter 1: Contemporary Constructivism and Its Usefulness in a Confucian Context -- Early Childhood Education in China: A Reevaluation of Confucianism and Constructivism -- A Hermeneutic Approach to a Theoretical Framework of Teachers' Constructivist Cocreation -- Chapter 2: Constructivism in Confucian Culture -- Thinking in a Chinese Way -- Constructivism and Confucianism -- Dewey, Confucius, and Tao Xingzhi -- Similarities -- Differences -- Implications for Cross-Cultural Learning Today -- Contemporary Constructivist Theories and Implications -- Flexible Teachers -- Prepared Environments -- Respectful Sociomoral Atmosphere -- The Chinese Context, The Guide, and Its Implementation -- Chapter 3: Constructivist Teaching in China Today -- Chinese Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers' Utilization of Constructivism -- Teacher Preference for Direct Teaching -- Etic Perspectives on the Prevalence of Direct Teaching -- Teacher Utilization of Constructivism -- Research Paradigm Shift -- Proprieties and Benevolence -- The Coherence of Theories and Practices -- Constructivist Teacher Education Theories and Implications -- Act I, Scene I: Active Learning -- Act I, Scene II: Heuristic Teaching -- Act I, Scene III: The Relationship Between Play and Learning -- Act II: DAP Versus Standards - An Example of Teachers' Practical Strategies -- Chinese Teacher Education Policies -- Conceptual Framework -- Chapter 4: A Hermeneutic Analysis of Chinese Teachers -- A Holistic Research Design -- Do Re Mi Youeryuan -- The Chinese Teachers -- Interviews, Observations, and Documents -- Interviews -- Observations -- Documents -- A Hermeneutic Analysis -- Preliminary Analysis -- Constant Comparative Analysis -- Hermeneutics -- Chapter 5: Flexibility and Balancing: Against the "Apprenticeship of Observation".

chapter 1 Introduction -- chapter 2 Constructivism and A Theory of Justice -- chapter 3 The constructivism of Political Liberalism -- chapter 4 Primary constructivism and O'Neill -- chapter 5 Reasoning practically: A constructivist understanding of practical reasoning -- chapter 6 Making practice reasonable: Political constructivism.

"Constructivism" published on by Oxford University Press.

Frontmatter -- Preface -- Table of Contents -- Are Philosophers′ Actions Realist or Constructivist? -- On the Non-Dualizing Rhetoric. Some Preliminary Remarks -- Ist der Konstruktivismus selbstwidersprüchlich? -- Die Wahrheitsspieler. Strategische Kommunikation als Spiel -- Who Wants to Be a Non-Dualist and Why? -- Jean Piaget und die Erfindung von Radikalem Konstruktivismus und Kybernetik Zweiter Ordnung -- Two Ways of Exploring the World -- The Truth of Social Constructivism -- The Objectivity of Epistemic Values and the Argument from Immersion -- Epistemological Realism, Representation, and Intentionality -- Angelina's Truth: Genetic Knowledge, Preventive Medicine, and the Reality of the Possible -- Neither Realism nor Anti-Realism: How to approach the Anthropocene? -- Ein Bild – ohne Betrachter – hielt uns gefangen. Wittgensteins ambivalenter Abschied vom Realismus -- Relativisms and Their Opposites -- When Paul Met Ludwig: Wittgensteinian Comments on Boghossian's Antirelativism -- Fighting Relativism: Wittgenstein and Kuhn -- Wissenschaftstheoretische Überlegungen jenseits von Realismus, Relativismus und Konstruktivismus -- Realism without Foundation -- Constructed Reality -- Ontological Relativism as Transcendental Nominalism -- Realism about Identity and Individuality of Conscious Beings -- What is the Thing Whose Measure is Money? -- Relativism about Morality -- Slavery and Justice: Williams and Wiggins -- A Plurality of True Moralities? Tracing 'Truth' in Moral Relativism -- Zum Wert von Vertrauen -- Die Erfindung der Sein-Sollen-Dichotomie -- Wird die Moral von uns geschaffen? -- The Sociology of the Supernatural: Wittgenstein's Lecture on Ethics -- Can We Piece Together a Coherent Account of the "Person" from the Writings of Wittgenstein? -- Wittgensteins Philosophieren zwischen Kodex und Strategie: Logik, Schach und Farbausdrücke -- Wittgenstein, Kierkegaard and the Significance of Silence -- Zweifeln können und zweifeln wollen: Über Gewissheit §217–231 -- Rules and Privacy: Remarks on Philosophical Investigations §202 -- Index of names -- Index of subjects

"German Idealism as Constructivism is the culmination of many years of research by distinguished philosopher Tom Rockmore--it is his definitive statement on the debate about German idealism between proponents of representationalism and those of constructivism that still plagues our grasp of the history of German idealism and the whole epistemological project today. Rockmore argues that German idealism--which includes iconic thinkers such as Kant, Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel--can best be understood as a constructivist project, one that asserts that we cannot know the mind-independent world as it is but only our own mental construction of it. Since ancient Greece philosophers have tried to know the world in itself, an effort that Kant believed had failed. His alternative strategy--which came to be known as the Copernican revolution--was that the world as we experience and know it depends on the mind. Rockmore shows that this project was central to Kant's critical philosophy and the later German idealists who would follow him. He traces the different ways philosophers like Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel formulated their own versions of constructivism. Offering a sweeping but deeply attuned analysis of a crucial part of the legacy of German idealism, Rockmore reinvigorates this school of philosophy and opens up promising new avenues for its study."--Publisher's description

This article shows the relevance of Oakeshott's political philosophy for the contemporary constructivist debate in International Relations. First, the article argues that Oakeshott's perspective stresses that political institutions are based on norms and relationships which result from human understanding. Second, it elaborates on Nicholas Rengger's recent work and reveals that Oakeshott's On Human Conduct presents considerations pertaining to international politics that are consistent with his broader political philosophy. These observations concern the nature of war, the historical role of colonialism and the evolution of international society. Third, this article discusses Terry Nardin's notion of 'practical association' and Christian Reus-Smit's criticism of it. It contends that international civil association is a relationship between states based on understood and socially constructed moral values and practices. Finally, the article claims that customary international law declares and reflects these values and practices. As such, it reveals that Oakeshott's notion of authority and his theory of civil association illuminate the possibility of an international legal order without a legislative office. This is of particular relevance also because of the Hobbesian influence on Oakeshott. Overall, this article illustrates how Michael Oakeshott's theory of civil association sheds light on the nature of international society and law.