Constructing Social Reality: An Inquiry into the Normative Foundations of Social Change - Softcover

Karlberg, Michael

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9780920904329: Constructing Social Reality: An Inquiry into the Normative Foundations of Social Change
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0920904327 ISBN 13: 9780920904329
Publisher: Association for Baha'i Studies, 2020

Synopsis

Some of the most significant obstacles to human well-being today are habits of Western thought that have been exported around the world. These habits include dichotomous conceptions of truth and relativity, cynical conceptions of knowledge and power, and conflictual conceptions of science and religion. Michael Karlberg articulates a framework for reconciling each of these false dichotomies in a critically informed and constructive manner. He does this, in philosophical terms, by reconciling ontological foundationalism and epistemological relativism within a moderate social constructionist framework. Karlberg's timely and accessible argument is offered with a spirit of humility and open-mindedness, inviting dialogue characterized by the same spirit, born out of genuine concern for the betterment of humanity at this critical juncture in history.

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About the Author

Michael Karlberg is a professor of Communication Studies at Western Washington University. His scholarship interrogates the intellectual foundations of Western civilization, including conceptions of human nature, power, social organization, and social change. His first book, Beyond the Culture of Contest, examines the socially unjust and ecologically ruinous consequences of organizing dominant social institutions and practices in a competitive manner. Constructing Social Reality builds on that work by examining the relativism, cynicism, and materialism the culture of contest gives rise to, and how this undermines struggles to construct more peaceful and just social forms. His current research is examining theories of social change, and their translation into movement practice, with a specific focus on how the relationship between ends and means is conceptualized and enacted.

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Publisher
Association for Baha'i Studies
Publication date
2020
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0920904327
ISBN 13 
9780920904329
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
258
Rating
  • 5.00 out of 5 stars
    5 ratings by Goodreads