Central and East European
Society for Phenomenology

Repository | Series | Book | Chapter

203970

Critique, construction, and co-creation

a conversation with Kenneth Gergen

Kenneth J. Gergen

pp. 177-210

Abstract

It is important to note that Ken Gergen (1985) has been a champion of social constructionism throughout his career. In this most recent interview Gergen emphasizes the case that he has made, in his more recent writings, for a "reflective pragmatism" which means shifting attention away from questions about "why some descriptions of human action [are] simply more accurate than others' to an examination of what values and meaning would serve society the best. Through Gergen's scholarship, the idea of how to measure and describe human behavior goes to the heart of what these researchers reveal to us. He alerts us to the disproportionate gaps between experimental research (psychological science), theory, and practice, which other scholars also comment on in their interviews.

Publication details

Published in:

Macdonald Heather, Goodman David, Becker Brian (2017) Dialogues at the edge of American psychological discourse: critical and theoretical perspectives. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

Pages: 177-210

DOI: 10.1057/978-1-137-59096-1_7

Full citation:

Gergen Kenneth J. (2017) „Critique, construction, and co-creation: a conversation with Kenneth Gergen“, In: H. Macdonald, D. Goodman & B. Becker (eds.), Dialogues at the edge of American psychological discourse, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 177–210.