Constructivism Flashcards
Where does it fall?
Anti-foundationalist
Anti-Foundationalism/Constructivism:
Realities are local, specific, and vary among individuals/groups.
Reality is actively constructed, not discovered.
Ontological constructivists often align with epistemological interpretivists.
Interpretivist Epistemology:
Interpretivists view knowledge as discursively, theoretically, and conceptually laden.
Prioritize understanding social and political action over explaining it.
Simple Link:
Constructivism leads to interpretivism, hermeneutics, and qualitative research, emphasizing subjective understanding and meanings.
Complicating Constructivism
Does it only fall under subjectivity?
Not all constructivists break with science and causality.
People act within meaningful social constructs.
Subjective interpretation affects behavior, possibly in broadly predictable ways.
The Origins of Constructivism:
Emile Durkheim and Max Weber were influential.
Durkheim introduced the idea of “social facts.”
Weber theorized the social construction of “interests.”
Max Weber and the Iron Cage:
Rationality and efficiency constrain individual freedom of thought.
Macro-level ideas structure our thinking internally and externally.
Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism:
Protestants believed in a worldly “calling.”
Calvinists linked material success to predestination.
Identified signs of predestination, including profit and material success.
Understanding and Explaining:
Explanation focuses on causal adequacy.
Understanding concerns meaning adequacy.
Some constructivists accept causal arguments; others emphasize the double hermeneutic.
Causal versus Constitutive Arguments:
Wendt distinguishes between causal and constitutive arguments.
Constitutive arguments define identities and meanings.
Causal focuses on “why,” constitutive on “what/how.”
David Hume’s Idea of Causality:
Hume challenged the objective determination of causal connections.
Cause and effect are inferred from correlated phenomena.
Belief in causality stems from psychological habit, not logic.
A ‘Post-Humean’ View of Causality:
Causal arguments require plausible mechanisms.
This view weakens the distinction between understanding and explaining.
Constructivists and non-constructivists differ on the origins of “social facts” and the role of contingency.
Mechanisms of Social Construction
Socialization:
Involves socializing with previous knowers/experiencers.
Persuasion:
Relies on explicit advocates with clear beliefs.
Bricolage:
Involves developing ideas and norms creatively to suit discrete problems and goals.
A “DIY” approach to social construction: resourceful, creative, and improvisational.
