Concepts of Realism in Constructivist Approaches

Abstract

The thesis of this paper is that the debate on realism versus constructivism is misconceived as there exist many different variants of constructivism, each of which operates with a certain, albeit minimalist social ontology. Different concepts of realism are carved out in phenomenology, Berger and Luckmann’s social constructivism, ethnomethodology, relational constructionism, and, finally, communicative constructivism. A differentiated view is recommended.

Keywords

• constructivism
• realism
• phenomenology
• social and empirical constructivism
• relational constructionism
• communicative constructivism