Radical Constructivism of Knowledge

= an epistemology, i.e. theory of knowledge of the world, which is an alternative to Metaphysical Realism

Contextual Quote

"Radical constructivism, thus, is radical because it breaks with convention and develops a theory of knowledge in which knowledge does not reflect an “objective” ontological reality, but exclusively an ordering and organization of a world constituted by our experience. The radical constructivist has relinquished “metaphysical realism” once and for all, and finds himself in full agreement with Piaget, who says: “Intelligence organizes the world by organizing itself.”

- Ernst von Glasersfeld [1]

Description

1. Ulrich Mohrhoff:

"The constructivism of Jean Piaget was developed by Ernst von Glasersfeld into the epistemology known as “radical constructivism.” Knowledge, according to this epistemology, is not passively received, nor can it be transmitted. It is actively built up by the cognizing subject. Cognition serves the individual’s organization of her experiential world, not the discovery of an objective ontological reality. Although the social environment constrains the construction of knowledge, radical constructivism is an individualistic epistemology, which entails that agreement cannot be forced or bought but must grow from conviction. It comes as a wholesome corrective to both scientific totalitarianism and religious dogmatism. For those who believe that Truth is mystically accessible but cannot be put into words, it would seem to be the epistemology of choice."

(https://antimatters2.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/2-1-17-25_revision1.pdf)

2. Ernst von Glasersfeld:

"The conceptual analysis shows, on the one hand, that a consciousness, no matter how it might be constituted, can “know” repetitions, invariances, and regularities only as the result of a comparison; on the other hand, it shows that there must always be a decision preceding the comparison proper, whether the two experiences that are to be compared should be considered as occurrences of one and the same or of two separate objects. These decisions determine what is to be categorized as “existing” unitary objects and what as relationships between them. Through these determinations, the experiencing consciousness creates structure in the flow of its experience. And that structure is what conscious cognitive organisms experience as “reality” — and since that reality is created almost entirely without the experiencer’s awareness of his or her creative activity, it comes to appear as given by an independently “existing” world."

(https://antimatters2.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/2-3-02-radical_constructivism.pdf)

Characteristics

"Radical constructivism is based on two fundamental insights:

1 Knowledge is not passively received but is actively built up by the cognizing subject.

2 The function of cognition is adaptive, and serves the subject’s organization of her experiential world, not the discovery of an objective ontological reality.

The second proposition maintains that ontological knowledge — knowledge about an objective reality existing independently of all subjects — is based on preferred belief, and as such is not within the scope of cognition. The possible existence of such an objective reality is not denied; what is asserted is that it is impossible in principle to obtain cognitive knowledge of such an entity.

We need to distinguish between our experiential world — the totality of our experiences: our individual perceptions and reflections — and the knowledge that we construct on the basis of our experiences. This knowledge can be of the cognitive kind, or it can be non-cognitive. Cognitive knowledge is based on reasoning, using rules and procedures that can be agreed on and communicated. Non-cognitive knowledge is of the “what it’s like” kind — for instance, what listening to a particular piece of music feels like to me — and cannot be communicated.

Whereas this conception of knowledge is inherently individualistic — each person confronts her own experiential world and constructs her knowledge of the world from that — the construction of knowledge is always done in a social environment, which constrains the learning process. Yet radical constructivism is not a sociological theory of knowledge. Social construction is only one aspect of epistemic construction: all mental tools are constructed, including those which are private to a single person, though many structures have an additional social input."

(https://antimatters2.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/2-1-17-25_revision1.pdf)

More information

* Article: An Introduction to Radical Constructivism. By Ernst von Glasersfeld. Antimatters, 2018/04/2-3-02

URL = https://antimatters2.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/2-3-02-radical_constructivism.pdf

The experiencing consciousness creates structure in the flow of its experience, and that structure is what conscious cognitive organisms experience as “reality.” Since that reality is created almost entirely without the experiencer’s awareness of his or her creative activity, it comes to appear as given by an independently “existing” world. Once knowing is no longer understood as the search for an iconic representation of ontological reality but, instead, as a search for fitting ways of behaving and thinking, the traditional problem of epistemology disappears. Knowledge can now be seen as something which the organism builds up in the attempt to order the as such amorphous flow of experience by establishing repeatable experiences and relatively reliable relations between them. The possibilities of constructing such an order are determined and perpetually constrained by the preceding steps in the construction. That means that the “real” world manifests itself exclusively where our constructions break down. Moreover, we can describe and explain these breakdowns only in the very concepts that we have used to build the failing structures."