it often loses excitement. Over time, boredom is invited. The first time one experiences an Appreciative Inquiry practice, for example, may be riveting. The tenth time, one may even feel resistant. Further, in many contexts the importance of a practitioner's words depends on their authenticity, that is, whether the expressions are specifically relevant to the unique individual or conditions at hand. When a teacher praises a student, for example, or a therapist expresses regard for a client, much depends on whether the praise or regard are seen as programmed – what the teacher or therapist always says – as opposed to being specific to the individual or situation in question. Finally, when a practice becomes formalized, it also becomes open to instrumentalization. It becomes a tactical tool for changing others, and thus subject to the same pitfalls discussed above regarding the presumption of causality.
It is essential, then, to avoid memorializing favored practices, and to embrace the possibilities of hybridization and continuous reforming.
The Enchantment of Righteousness
Working within a constructionist framework, most practitioners are keenly aware of the values that are realized in their efforts. Practices may be intended, for example, to support those in need, achieve social justice, create social solidarity, achieve peace, and so on. As proposed above, it is just such values that have motivated the development of new practices. However, the satisfaction derived from such efforts also carries dangers. The sense of ‘doing good’ can suppress critical reflection on one's efforts. Alternative points of view and practices may be dismissed or demonized. The general antipathy among many constructionists to strategic, mechanistic, individualist, materialist, structural, or hierarchical practices is illustrative. Further, the unreflective championing of one's ‘good’ practices may blind one to their ‘bad’ consequences. Supporting those in need may sustain the very systems responsible for their condition; the empowering of a group may lead to the dis-empowering of another group; alternatives to diagnostic categories threaten the well-being of those reassured by such categories; and so on. Unless we sustain a posture of humility in our valued endeavors, we risk becoming yet another encampment in the battles for moral superiority.
Absence of the Agora
As we have seen, constructionist ideas and practices have emerged in widely disparate professions around the world. Further, there are numerous communities – both professional and informal – in which practices congenial with constructionist ideas are continuing to emerge. Yet, communication between and among these many cousins is effortful. Books and journals are significant vehicles for information transfer, but their costs are often prohibitive, they lack broad visibility, they require translation, and the writing is often technical and opaque. The result is essentially a general state of mutual ignorance both within and across the domains of theory and practice, and across cultures. Metaphorically there is little that functions as an agora or public space for sharing and discussing developments. As constructionists emphasize, it is just such dialogues that kindle curiosity and enthusiasm, build confidence, spark innovation, and generate thoughtful reflection.
The present volume is a contribution to building this public space, and while broadly representative, the chief site of dialogue may be between readers and the authors. There are increasing numbers of conferences built around constructionist-friendly practices – in education, therapy and healthcare for example. Likewise, there are many websites that gather and feature relevant practices from broad sectors. And the Taos Institute has long attempted to bring together scholars and practitioners from around the world to share their work and inspire further growth. However, sustaining and developing the impetus to innovation will importantly depend on generating more plentiful sites for trans-disciplinary and trans-cultural dialogue. Most efficient and least environmentally harmful may be the offerings of the ever-expanding vistas of web-based communication.
Constructionist Practices: The Vital Challenge
While there are obstacles to the continued flourishing of relevant practices, there are profound reasons for energetically pressing ahead. We confront a world in which the world's peoples are both closer together and further apart than ever before. Not only are there more people moving across the globe than at any point in history, but technology enables instantaneous communication among people at virtually any location. These same technologies, however, enable the convictions of any group to be sustained and intensified through continuous interchange. The relations among peoples thus degenerate; callousness, defensiveness, exploitation, and aggression are commonplace. We find ourselves, then, immersed in a drift toward mutual annihilation.
It is in just such conditions that the kinds of ideas and practices represented in this Handbook are most vitally needed. The constructionist dialogues themselves invite a humility with respect to one's own convictions, as they remind us that our beliefs and values have no foundations other than those which we create together. Invited as well is a curiosity about others’ beliefs and ways of life, as these will contain insights and possibilities that may enrich the human venture. And, as we have seen, constructionist theory invites a posture of creativity, emphasizing our potentials for co-creating new and more inclusive ways of life. The practices shared within this Handbook provide both a direction toward a more promising future, and the confidence that it can be achieved.
Note
1 Although the term ‘constructivism’ has early roots in a theory of mind, it is now widely used synonymously with the more socially oriented emphasis of ‘social constructionism’.
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