Suchergebnisse

Our actions are informed by the consideration of reasons; reasons which constructivism suggests are not simply discovered, but made by us. This book examines this view, elaborating its basic idea into a fully-fledged account of practical reasons, making its theoretical commitments explicit, and defending it against well-known objections.

Es ist die zentrale Annahme aller konstruktivistischen Ansätze, dass wir im Erkennen Befangene sind, dass der Zugriff auf eine absolute Wahrheit unmöglich ist, unmöglich sein muss. In diesem Buch werden - ausgehend von Vorläufern und zentralen Bezugstheorien der Philosophiegeschichte - die unterschiedlichen Theoriestränge des Konstruktivismus beschrieben, die aus den Naturwissenschaften, den Geistes- und den Sozialwissenschaften stammen. Das Spektrum reicht von den Klassikern der Philosophiegeschichte über die Sprachphilosophie und Wissenssoziologie bis hin zur Theorie der Autopoiesis und der modernen Hirnforschung. In kompakten, gut lesbaren Artikeln, verfasst von führenden Fachleuten aus dem In- und Ausland, werden die Schlüsselwerke des Konstruktivismus und die Möglichkeiten der forschungs- und praxisbezogenen Anwendung in unterschiedlichen Disziplinen und Arbeitsfeldern (u.a. Medien- und Literaturwissenschaft, Pädagogik, Psychologie, Organisationsberatung, Soziale Arbeit) präsentiert. Für die 2. Auflage wurde der Band aktualisiert und um ein Nachwort von Siegfried J. Schmidt ergänzt.

Introduction -- Misconceptions underlying individually centered constructivism and critical inquiry -- Toward a culturally grounded theory of learning -- How constructivism undermines the commons -- Constructivism : the Trojan horse of western imperialism -- Toward a culturally informed eco-justice pedagogy

Reconstructing moral constructivism -- Objectivity, the euthyphro question, and reconstructing natural law -- Hume's construction of justice -- Hume's proof of the insufficiency of moral sentiments -- Kant's principles of moral constructivism -- Natural law constructivism and rational justification -- Constructivism, contractarianism, and basic obligations -- Kant's justification of rights to usufruct -- Reintegrating justice into morals

Many normative theorists have advocated constructivism as a way of overcoming skepticism and nihilism. They have produced three types of constructivism that correspond to three conceptions of rationality: formal (Hare and Gewirth), instrumental (Gauthier), and ideal (Rawls). In this book, T.K. Seung examines these three types and vindicates Rawls' claim that only the constructivism of ideal rationality - which accepts Kantiam ideals as its basis - is viable. Unlike Rawls, however, Seung traces Kantian ideas to Platonic forms. Without this Platonic move, he shows, ideal constructivism cannot avoid collapsing to normative positivism. Seung maintains that Platonic forms are the obects of normative intuition and that they are only schematic ideas and principles that must be articulated into a system of concrete normative standards. This process of articulation is normative construction. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that constructivism and intuitionism are in competition with each other, Seung demonstrates the necessity of their natural dependence. That is, their happy union alone can provide a secure foundation for normative theories and save them from the twin evils of scepticism and nihilism

Do we have true access to reality or are we merely surrounded by our own constructions of reality? This classic question has been taken up again with great urgency in the sciences and by the media. The volume reflects on the current status of the controversy, presenting essays by renowned proponents from different disciplines.

Emanuel Adler is one of the leading IR theorists of his generation. This volume brings together a collection of his articles, including four new and previously unpublished chapters.