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Constructionism

Essay by   •  March 3, 2011  •  Research Paper  •  1,497 Words (6 Pages)  •  1,083 Views

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Every scientific activity is characterized by two partial activities; one is some form of observation/perception. It can take place directly, through the senses, somewhat more indirectly via some form of an, in one or another respect sense improving instrument like a microscope, a telescope or stethoscope, or even more indirectly via some detecting instrument like a Geiger counter, an electrocardiograph or an X-ray apparatus (HarrÐ"© 1976).

The other part is some form of thought activity it "surrounds" and penetrates the observation/perception; A more or less conscious thought activity takes place as an introduction to the observation. It directs the attention in a special direction, "chooses" observations, steps somewhat back during the direct moment of perception/observation, to dominate once more after the direct moment of perception/observation.

The thought activity distinguishes between different parts of that which is observed/perceived, gives them names or makes a more specific conceptual analysis of them, it may also quantify them and then relates them to each other, logically or mathematically, as with social constructionism.

I find that sciences have a lot to do with social constructionism; “social constructivism is a sociological theory of knowledge that considers how social phenomena develop in particular social contexts. Social constructs are generally understood to be the by-products (often unintended or unconscious) of countless human choices rather than laws resulting from divine will or nature”. (Hall, S., Lumley, B. & McLennan, G. (1978). “Politics and Ideology: Gramsci” in On Ideology. University of Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies)

The concept of Sayers is what the practices, institutions, rules, roles, or relationships are depends, on what they mean in society and to its members (Sayer, Method In Social Sciences, A Realist Approach, PP 30). Particularly where actors state their intentions fairly and formally, we should be wary of assuming that what appears to be coherent on paper will be possible in practice; political manifestos provide a good illustration of the danger, (Verstehen A Realist Approach, Andrew Sayers, Method In Social Sciences PP 36). I believe that these two concepts are of interest in the poligious attitude of its nation, community and society in which produces the culture. Politics and religion provide its people with safety, employment, and the America dream, as with religions provide faith to make all of those dreams happen. But at times poligious, the political and religious beliefs, analyzed closely can give personal bias, unwanted traditional values and other attributes of dislike, a boost.

Sayer’s states “the practices, institutions, rules, roles, or relationships are, depend on what they mean in society to it members” (Sayer, Method In Social Sciences, A Realist Approach, PP 30). This statement is made of attributes of poligous, the values installed for behavior of certain parties and religion; groups or clicks developed by the government and religious institutions as and also stated by Verstehen, “Political manifestos provide a good illustration of the danger”. (Verstehen A Realist Approach, Andrew Sayers, Method In Social Sciences PP 36) As we all know church and state go hand in hand, due to the God Bless America, and the values adopted by each political party, for the American population.

Sayers also states that “the most obvious candidates for intrinsically meaningful social phenomena are the ideas, beliefs concepts and knowledge held by people in society. (Sayer, Method In Social Sciences, A Realist Approach, PP 30) The concepts above have a lot to do with Social constructionism; social constructionism or social constructivism is a sociological theory of knowledge that considers how social phenomena develop in particular social contexts. Within constructionist thought, a social construction (social construct) is a concept or practice which may appear to be natural and obvious to those who accept it, but in reality is an invention or artifact of a particular culture or society, either of the poligious party. Social constructs are generally understood to be the by-products (often unintended or unconscious) of countless human choices rather than laws, resulting from divine will or nature, this can be characterized in two ways: internally, in terms of its defining characteristics, and externally, in terms of the views that it generally opposes. Internally, constructionist perspectives generally take at least some of the following stances: anti-essentialism and anti-realism; an emphasis on historical and cultural specificity of knowledge; an emphasis on language as a pre-condition of thought; an emphasis on language as a form of social action; a focus on interaction and social practices; and a focus on processes, not simply products (see Burr, 1995). Constructionism involves an emphasis on context-bound aspects of objects and ideas. It emphasizes the historically developed and culture-specific nature of the objects of study, and it places central importance on the role of discourse in constituting these objects as historically and culturally contingent. Given this general emphasis on conceptualizations, the word вЂ?social’ in вЂ?social constructionism’ is arguably redundant (see Latour and Woolgar, 1986, p. 281; Hacking, 1998, pp. 49вЂ"52). It focuses on discursive and social processes of construction of social circles. Utilizing the word вЂ?social’ ought to appropriately be restricted to cases where concentration is directed to the constructive role of specific social processes, in which these concepts are the ingredients of the social environment.

A major focus of social constructionism is to uncover the ways in which individuals and groups participate

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