Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology

2014 Edition
| Editors: Thomas Teo

Constructivism, Overview

Reference work entry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5583-7_350
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Introduction

Constructivism is an epistemological approach based on the assumption that knowledge, everything that is known, does not prescind from an observer but is actively construed: what we consider reality corresponds with our experience and, consequently, with our knowledge of it. This way of thinking is absolutely revolutionary with respect to a millenary philosophical tradition (Warren, 1998), which prompts us to assume that, if an action, a notion, or a strategy leads to a previewed or wished effect, this success necessarily shows some aspects, some elements of an independent reality. In order to know the world we need only collect a sufficient number of elements and “facts.”

From the constructivist perspective, this causal link is purely illusional. “Facts,” instead of preceding knowledge, emerge as significant from our experience and are the product of our constructive activity (Glasersfeld, 1989). Success in action, theory, and notions, seen from this position, tells us...

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© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.School of Constructivist PsychotherapyInstitute of Constructivist PsychologyPadovaItaly