Empirical Variations of Relationality and the Question of Ontology: A Comment on Ken Gergen's Relational Being

摘要

A friendly critique of Ken Gergen's (2009) Relational Being is advanced through reference to the ontological foundation of his own reflective explorations—in the kindred field of phenomenology. The relationship of empirical observations to their ontological foundation is given demonstration in Gergen's thorough articulation of the vicissitudes of social relationality. A cautionary suggestion regarding the potential conflation of empirical and ontological relationality is presented, followed by a more direct assessment of the position advanced by Gergen. The practical strengths and theoretical limitation of filtering relationality through the dual lens of social psychology and social constructionism are considered.View full textDownload full textRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10720537.2011.593466