Radical Constructivism has been defined as an ‘unconventional approach to the problem of knowledge and knowing’. Its unconventionality is summarised by its claim that it is impossible to attribute unique meaning to experience-as no mind-independent yardstick can be assumed to exist against which to identify uniqueness, and hence to produce ...

The development of a constructivist theory of knowing has been the focus of my interest for several decades. It was a philosophical interest that arose originally out of work concerning first the structure and semantics of several languages and later cognitive psychology. Therefore, the title of this chapter may need ...

With the advent of web-based courses and distance education technology, it is necessary to carefully consider how the use of this technology fosters the learning intended in adult education programs. In this paper, we have outlined constructivist learning theory as an approach to fostering web-based course development. A constructivist approach ...

Heinz von Foerster had a knack for statements that sounded paradoxical. In fact, they made a lot of sense when they were unpacked. At the very beginning of our joint recollections in “Wie wir uns erfinden”, a book we published together a few years ago, he said for example: “It’s ...

The paper is aimed at showing similarities and differences between the views of complementarity in relation to the creation and structure of cognitive systems held by George A. Kelly and Francisco J. Varela, both of them sharing a constructivist metatheory. Though operating in different times and in different fields (psychology ...

Four major paradigms of family therapy are, contrasted: affective-experiential, structural, atrategic and Milan.

This work attempts to present the most important contributions of Humberto R. Maturana to the field of psychology, in an effort to reveal them directly. The main conclusion is that Maturana has expanded the understanding of humanness and therapy through the biology of the observer.

Kenneth Gergen is one of the most widely known contributors to social constructionist thought in the world today. Since the publication of his paper “Social Psychology as History” he has become a central player in what is known as the Social Psychology Crisis.

The following conversation took place during the afternoon of December 3. 1992, in Phoenix, Arizona, where we were all participating in the Fifth Interanational Congres on Ericksonian Approaches to Hypnosis and Psychotherapy.

This paper is about a particular kind of relating between people engaged in processes of change, such as in therapy, primary medical care practice or participatory action research. My thesis is that if a therapist, practitioner or facilitator of research engages with individuals or groups on a basis of relational ...