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ERIC Number: EJ733572
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0003-066X
EISSN: N/A
Ontological and Epistemic Claims of Realism and Instrumentalism
Lau, Michael Y.
American Psychologist, v60 n4 p345-346 May-Jun 2005
This article presents comments on "Realism, Instrumentalism, and Scientific Symbiosis: Psychological Theory as a Search for Truth and the Discovery of Solutions" by John T. Cacioppo, Gun R. Semin and Gary G. Berntson. While Lau admires the authors efforts to negotiate symbiosis with seemingly incommensurate realist and instrumentalist positions in science. They focused very intently on hashing out the impetus and motivations for engaging in scientific activity under these two broad perspectives. Although Cacioppo et al. made attempts to highlight the divergent points of realism and instrumentalism and subsequently how the two may be concurrently adopted in an iteratively reflective manner by scientists, the choice to not fully interrogate for the reader the respective underlying ontological and epistemic assumptions serves to oversimplify the possibility for, and create the illusion of, symbiosis. Lau goes on to expand his point and make the reader understand that realists and instrumentalists often have different agendas and these differences are grounded by particular ontological and epistemic assumptions.
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5540; Fax: 202-336-5549; e-mail: journals@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org/journals.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A