Publication 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.

Key words: maturana, objectivity in parenthesis, stereotypes, education, populism, climate change.