Social Constructivism and the Philosophy of Science

ISBN-13: 9780415234191 / Angielski / Miękka / 2000 / 192 str.

Andre Kukla;Kukla Andr

Opis

Social constructionists maintain that we invent the properties of the world rather than discover them. Is reality constructed by our own activity? Or, more provocatively, are scientific facts constructed? Is everything constructed? This is a discussion of the philosophical issues that arise out of this controversial debate, analysing the various strengths and weaknesses of a range of constructivist positions. The author argues that contemporary philosophical objections to constructivism are drastically inconclusive, while offering and developing objections. He shows that the strongest constructivist arguments still suffer from conceptual difficulties, illustrating the divide between the sociology and the philosophy of science through examples as varied as laboratory science, time, and criminality. Throughout, the book distinguishes between the social causes of scientific beliefs and the view that all ascertainable facts are constructed.

Spis treści

Chapter 1 Defining constructivism; Chapter 2 Constructivism and the sociology of scientific knowledge; Chapter 3 The varieties of dependence; Chapter 4 The varieties of constitutive constructivisms; Chapter 5 The empirical case for constructivism; Chapter 6 The a priori case for constructivism; Chapter 7 Three brief and inadequate objections to constructivism; Chapter 8 The problem of misrepresentation; Chapter 9 Constructive empiricism and social constructivism; Chapter 10 The infinite regress of constructions; Chapter 11 The Duhemian asymmetry; Chapter 12 The problem of the two societies; Chapter 13 Constructivism and time; Chapter 14 Constructivism and logic; Chapter 15 Relativism; Chapter 16 Semantic constructivism; Chapter 17 Irrationalism; Chapter 18 Conclusions; References; Index;

O autorze

André Kukla is a Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Philosophy at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Studies in Scientific Realism.