Abstract: In my response, I focus on themes that recur in the commentaries: (a) Radical constructivism’s neutrality and the need for and value of sustainability; (b) education and sustainability; (c) the relation between fast and slow learning; and (d) radical constructivism in the context of populism and fake news. I welcome the way the commentaries broaden the context of the target article, emphasising the contemporary international importance of the topic and providing examples that refine radical constructivism’s contribution to educational innovative practice.
Gash H. (2022) Humberto Maturana: Using his biological system in the social domain. Cybernetics and Human Knowing 29(1–2): 77–86. https://cepa.info/7918
I was familiar with constructivist thinking in Dewey, Piaget, and von Glasersfeld when I discovered Humberto Maturana’s work. I used Maturana’s idea of objectivities in parenthesis in intervention studies in elementary schools focused on gender stereotypes and children with learning difficulties or from other countries. Recently I wrote about thinking about sustainability and climate change and hoped that objectivities captured in the phrase consensual communities might facilitate dialogue between groups with different views. Yet throughout there is always the tension between alternative objectivities. I am concerned about how to sustain mutual respect in conversations between individuals and consensual communities that have strongly opposing views.