CONSTRUCTIVISM Flashcards
What is the introduction to constructivism?
The epistemological debate over the source of our knowledge of the external dominated the modern period of philosophy. This debate was a two-cornered fight between rationalism and empiricism. The rationalist claimed that we can know knowledge independently of experience. While rejecting this thesis the empiricist countered with the opposing thesis that all genuine knowledge is derived from experience (senses).
what does Kant attempt to do?
Faced with the divide between partially correct and partially wrong. Thus, he attempts to construct a mediatory view incorporating rationalism and empiricism’s insightful elements.
what is Kant’s theory of knowledge?
In this sense, Kant’s theory of knowledge is generally described as constructivism while Kant himself is identified as either a rational empiricist or an empirical rationalist. This is because of his bridge-building status between rationalism and empiricism.
What was Kant’s analysis?
In his analysis of how knowledge is possible, Kant agrees with the empiricist that all knowledge begins with experience and must be related to experience. Although he disagrees with
them that all knowledge
derives from experience (senses). According to Kant
(1961:171) “ that all our knowledge begins with experience there can be no doubt…
But through all our knowledge begins with experience it by no means follows that all arises out of experience’’.
What is Kant’s view on the two major epistemological tools that work together on knowledge?
In Kant’s view man is made up of two major epistemological tools
that work together to give knowledge. There are:
sensibility and understanding. Kant as quoted by Ojong and Ibrahim (2011: 171) “ Sensibility is the capacity of the human mind to receive the contents of sense perception which are representation of objects. Understanding is the active power, of thinking about the objects of sense perceptions or intuition’’. That is, sensibility is the passive power; it only receives sensory intuitions while understanding is an active power that enables us to organize the sense perception into meaningful objects.
What else does Kant say about Sensibility and Understanding?
In effect, the two powers (sensibility and understanding) play a complementary role in the process of knowledge acquisition. In Kant’s words (1961:93) ‘‘To neither of these powers may a preference be given over the other. Without sensibility no object would be given to us, without understanding no object would be thought. Thought without context is empty, and intuitions without concepts are blind… these two powers or capacities cannot exchange their functions. The understanding can intuit nothing, the senses can think nothing. Only through our union can knowledge arise’’.
What else does Kant explain?
Kant explains further that all objects of sensation must be experienced within the limits of space and time. Space and time are pure forms of sensibility that are before sense perception. The human mind in Kant’s view is structured in such a way that no object can appear to us except in space and time. This is because they are the referential framework within which we are capable of receiving objects.
What in addition to forms of sensibility?
In addition to the forms of sensibility (space and time), there are also pure forms of understanding; the categories or general structures of thought that the human mind contributes to understanding physical phenomena. With these categories, the human mind synthesizes the contents of sense perception for analytic unity. These categories are principles or rules of thinking or understanding. Given this, Kant describes the knowledge that comes out of this process as synthetic, a prior knowledge. Against the exclusive nature of rationalism and empiricism, Kant’s constructivism sees knowledge as a product of the contributions of inputs from sense experience, Kant believes that the mind actively structures these experiences, using rational principles that are innate to us. This constructivism is the position that knowledge is ‘‘constructed’’ out of the joint operation of the mind and the senses. The mind provides the form while the senses contribute the content. And with these two materials knowledge is constructed.
What are the central principles of constructivism?
Sensibility and understanding as the sources of knowledge. Kant’s constructivism bridges the gap between rationalism and empiricism.
