Foundations of Science
Volume 6, Numbers 1 to 4

The Impact of Radical Constructivism on Science

Special issue editor: Alexander Riegler

NOTE: This page contains links to the preprints of the articles that appeared in the journal issues. These preprints are for personal non-commercial use only. For the final paper versions, please contact Kluwer Academic Publishers.

About the special issue

Constructivism is the idea that we construct our own world rather than being determined by an outside reality. Its most consequent form, Radical Constructivism (RC), claims that we cannot transcend our experiences. Therefore it doesn't make sense to say that our constructions gradually approach the structure of an external reality. Yet, RC has the potential to go much further. It is claimed that RC provides the foundation of a new world-view in which we can overcome hard scientific problems. Rather than asking What is knowledge? and What is Reality?, RC is interested in investigating the mechanisms of knowledge construction. Therefore, RC has the constructive opportunity to transform from a purely philosophical-argumentative framework into a scaffolding for science.

Table of Contents

Volume 6, Numbers 1–3

Editorial

Alexander Riegler

Towards a Radical Constructivist Understanding of Science [Abstract] [PDF]

The Paradigm

Ernst von Glasersfeld

The Radical Constructivist View of Science [Abstract] [PDF]

Ranulph Glanville

An Observing Science [Abstract] [PDF]

Gerard de Zeeuw

Constructivism: A 'Next' Area of Scientific Development? [Abstract] [PDF]

Cognition and Biology

John Stewart

Radical Constructivism in Biology and Cognitive Science [Abstract] [PDF]

Markus Peschl

Constructivism, Cognition, and Science. An Investigation of Its Links and Possible Shortcomings [Abstract] [PDF]

Tom Ziemke

The Construction of 'Reality' in the Robot: Constructivist Perspectives on Situated Artificial Intelligence and Adaptive Robotics [Abstract] [PDF]

Volume 6, Number 4

Physics

Helmut Schwegler

Physics Develops Unaffected by Constructivism [Abstract] [PDF]

Gerhard Grössing

Comparing the Long-Term Evolution of "Cognitive Invariances" in Physics with a Dynamics in States of Consciousness [Abstract] [PDF]

Olaf Diettrich

A Physical Approach to the Construction of Cognition and to Cognitive Evolution [Abstract] [PDF]

Reasoning and Learning

Bernard Scott

Gordon Pask's Conversation Theory: A Domain Independent Constructivist Model of Human Knowing [Abstract] [PDF]

Hans Rudi Fischer

Abductive Reasoning as a Way of Worldmaking [Abstract] [PDF]


Page created 06 Feb 2001 by Alex Riegler, last update 28 Nov 2001 by Alex Riegler