"Do our thoughts and claims about the world give us rational access to the way the world really is? Can subjective experience ever provide a basis for grasping objective truth? These perennial questions of philosophy reach to the heart of every human endeavor, from education to science to everyday, successful practice. Despite the intuitive and nearly universal appeal of realism, influential thinkers from many fields – including educational theory, psychology, cybernetics, literary criticism, biology, and physics – have long followed the skeptics in denying knowers any kind of reliable bridge to the world.
This slim volume offers the first comprehensive assessment and critique of radical constructivism, a famously skeptical theory of knowledge with a large following across the academic disciplines. Employing a dialogic mode of discourse, the authors have crafted a remarkably accessible treatise that both details the solipsistic perils of antirealism and defends an alternative, constructivist realist account of our place as knowers in the larger, constraining world."
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements (iii)
Introduction: Plumbing Philosophy’s Depths (v)
Characters (vii)
___________________________________
Prologue: Query to Bridges (1)
1. A Point of Departure (5)
2. The Dance of Knowledge (11)
3. Knowledge and its Objects (15)
4. Hypothesis and Reality (19)
5. A Rock in Itself (23)
6. Mapping the Territory (29)
7. Pedagogy and Pragmatism (35)
8. Toleration and Truth (41)
9. Fallibility and Skepticism (45)
10. Believing and Knowing (51)
11. Formalizing the Argument (59)
12. Equivocation on Independence (65)
13. Fitness and Correspondence (73)
14. The Reality of the Subject (77)
15. Ontological Agnosticism and Solipsism (81)
16. Poetry in Action (87)
17. Constructivist Realism (91)
Epilogue: Reply to Govier (101)
___________________________________
Bibliography (105)
Index (109)
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A Dialogue on the Construction of Knowledge, Education, and Truth
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News!
Alison, Jules, and Russell return to discuss the implications of constructivist realism for pedagogy, in Bridges to Autonomy: Paradoxes in Teaching and Learning. Piraeus Press. Fall, 2011.
What People are Saying
"[Braden-Johnson] has been the most consistent critic of RC. He is also the most knowledgeable and has a fully developed theory of epistemology to pitch against constructivist writings."
--- Ernst von Glasersfeld (Constructivist Foundations 6.1)
"A deceptively profound, compact book that can be inscribed in the grand tradition of philosophical dialogue."
--- Bart Van Kerkhove (Constructivist Foundations)
“An entertaining, witty, and instructive romp through the treacherous epistemological, metaphysical, and pedagogical dimensions of constructivism. All the major issues are effectively addressed, and the dialogue form is very well executed.”
--- Harvey Siegel, Philosophy, University of Miami
“Bridges to the World is an engaging introduction to metaphysically and epistemologically deep issues such as realism, anti-realism, constructivism, and skepticism. The dialogue format is lively, and a welcome departure from the usual textbook format. The use of conversation to convey philosophical ideas reminds us that philosophy is, essentially, a shared, interpersonal enterprise.”
--- Nancy Snow, Philosophy, Marquette University
“Bridges to the World is a perfect primer on the realist-constructivist debates that have pervaded academia for over 25 years. The conversational format gives the essentials in fun, readily digestible form, without sacrificing philosophical nutrition. David Johnson and Matthew Silliman demonstrate just how all of us can (and moreover should) rightly consider ourselves to be philosophers in respect to our everyday, taken-for-granted views about the all-important matters of reality, truth, and knowledge.”
--- Barbara S. Held, Psychology, Bowdoin College
“Johnson and Silliman deftly and respectfully call into question the philosophy and pedagogy of Ernst von Glasersfeld’s radical constructivism. Referencing great thinkers such as Kant, Descartes, Berkeley, Dewey, and others, the book challenges our thinking on important questions such as: Is there really anything to know without a knower? Are students’ knowledge-maps appropriate means of exploring the terrain? ...a must read for all educators.”
--- Warren Blumenfeld, Education, Iowa State University
--- Ernst von Glasersfeld (Constructivist Foundations 6.1)
"A deceptively profound, compact book that can be inscribed in the grand tradition of philosophical dialogue."
--- Bart Van Kerkhove (Constructivist Foundations)
“An entertaining, witty, and instructive romp through the treacherous epistemological, metaphysical, and pedagogical dimensions of constructivism. All the major issues are effectively addressed, and the dialogue form is very well executed.”
--- Harvey Siegel, Philosophy, University of Miami
“Bridges to the World is an engaging introduction to metaphysically and epistemologically deep issues such as realism, anti-realism, constructivism, and skepticism. The dialogue format is lively, and a welcome departure from the usual textbook format. The use of conversation to convey philosophical ideas reminds us that philosophy is, essentially, a shared, interpersonal enterprise.”
--- Nancy Snow, Philosophy, Marquette University
“Bridges to the World is a perfect primer on the realist-constructivist debates that have pervaded academia for over 25 years. The conversational format gives the essentials in fun, readily digestible form, without sacrificing philosophical nutrition. David Johnson and Matthew Silliman demonstrate just how all of us can (and moreover should) rightly consider ourselves to be philosophers in respect to our everyday, taken-for-granted views about the all-important matters of reality, truth, and knowledge.”
--- Barbara S. Held, Psychology, Bowdoin College
“Johnson and Silliman deftly and respectfully call into question the philosophy and pedagogy of Ernst von Glasersfeld’s radical constructivism. Referencing great thinkers such as Kant, Descartes, Berkeley, Dewey, and others, the book challenges our thinking on important questions such as: Is there really anything to know without a knower? Are students’ knowledge-maps appropriate means of exploring the terrain? ...a must read for all educators.”
--- Warren Blumenfeld, Education, Iowa State University