re: Introduction

anima@devi.demon.co.uk
Sat, 7 Oct 1995 21:17:46 +0000

In introducing himself to this group, John Salinger asks:

>I note that most of you have your livelihoods affiliated with
>Constructivism. Given that the Constructivist perspective is itself a
>construct, I am curious to find out what advantages and handicaps this
>worldview provides in your own lives? Of the two, the handicaps interest me
>more. ie: In what context is the Constructivist position dysfunctional?
>Anyone care to comment?

Well, the obvious thing that should bother all constructivists no end
(except, at times, Dorothy Rowe) is the self-referential incompleteness of
the constructivist position, which is made explicit particularly in
personal construct theory rather than any other of the
constructivist/constructionist variants which I've (briefly and
inadequately) investigated.

Namely, George Kelly's notion of _constructive alternativism_, which
suggests that, by definition, the constructivist should always be open to
alternative constructions: which must logically include the position that
positivism is functional and constructivism isn't.

Oh, and that it may not be legitimate to say, (as it _is_ possible with
positivism), that in constructivism we have

>a true metatheory for understanding
(a reference to a comment made by John Norton)

The Boeotian paradox in another guise? Irritating, isn't it!

Kindest regards,

Devi Jankowicz

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%