In one of the exchanges that appeared recently, someone hauled out this
bit....
>
>>Is it an objective fact that there are no objective facts, or is it just a
>>construct socially validated between radical constructivists?
>>
(Just winding you up, Jim)
>>
I can't recall how I answered that question when it first appeared, but
I realized on seeing it again that one would best respond to the
question by pointing out that one would regard a "fact" as a proposition
-- a statement, a verbalization of a construction.
E. G. "There is a chair there!!!"
Certain inputs enter a person's neurological system (as I construe
it???) The person sorts through his/her construct system and the inputs
are located on a series of bi-poled constructs. Thus, the person
determines that the assumed event can be assigned those attributes that
constitute the necessary attributes of a category of assumed events that
fit into the category CHAIR. That is, whatever kicked off the energy
changes that affected the person's sensory endings in that particular
way can be treated by the use of the anticipatory construction CHAIR.
In order to evoke in a dialogue partner the use of a construction
similar to that which the viewer has used, he/she says, "There is a
chair there." He/she regards his statement as a FACT (from the Latin,
to be made).
Agreed????
How would one determine that a verbalization of a construction can be
categorized (construed) as "objective?"
What constructs would one use to determine whether a FACT can fit into
the category (anticipatory construction) OBJECTIVE???? (Note, the term
OBJECTIVE labels a construction [a category]). What constructs are used
to determine whether a fact has the necessary features that allow it to
be regarded as an exemplar of the category OBJECTIVE. (My assumption is
that attributes are assigned by locating an assumed event on one or the
other end of a two-poled construct!!)
After clarification of these basic issues, we can then return to the
question, if we still regard it as a useful question: "Is it an
objective fact that there are no objective facts, or is it just a
construct socially validated between radical constructivists?
Jim Mancuso
--
James C. Mancuso Dept. of Psychology
15 Oakwood Place University at Albany
Delmar, NY 12054 1400 Washington Ave.
Tel: (518)439-4416 Albany, NY 12222
Mailto:mancusoj@capital.net
http://www.capital.net/~soialban/index.html
A website dedicated to information on Italian-
American history and heritage.
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