Unfolding Social Constructionism

1. SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM AS A METATHEORY OF
    PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
     1.1. A POST-MODERNIST PROGRAM
     1.2. SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM
     1.3. POTTER'S DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
     1.4. SHOTTER'S CONVERSATIONAL ANALYSIS
     1.5. GERGEN'S METATHEORY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL
            SCIENCE
     1.6. UNFOLDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
            LANGUAGE AND REALITY
          1.6.1. Psychology's theories are not derived from observation
                    (A1)
          1.6.2. Psychology's theories do not depict, map, mirror,
                    contain, convey, picture, reflect, store or represent
                    reality (A2)
          1.6.3. Psychological phenomena are not discourse-
                    independent (A3)
          1.6.4. Summary
     1.7. GERGEN'S RATIONALE FOR PROPOSITIONS A1, A2
            AND A3
          1.7.1. A theory of meaning involving external reference is
                    implausible
          1.7.2. The meanings of psychology's theoretical terms
                    areindeterminate
          1.7.3. Meaning is contextually dependent
          1.7.4. Meaning has social origins within situations
     1.8. CONCLUSION 

2. RELATIVISM AND SELF-REFUTATION
     2.1. INTRODUCTION
     2.2. AN ANALYSIS OF THE CHARGE OF RELATIVISM
     2.3. RELATIVISM DEFINED
     2.4. EPISTEMOLOGICAL RELATIVISM
          2.4.1. Epistemological relativism1
          2.4.2. Epistemological relativism2
     2.5. ONTOLOGICAL RELATIVISM
     2.6. CONCEPTUAL RELATIVISM
     2.7. SELF-REFUTATION
          2.7.1. The classical refutation of relativism
          2.7.2. Mackie's analysis of self-refutation
          2.7.3. Ascribing self-refutation to social constructionism
     2.8. CONCLUSION 

3. NON-FACTUALISM
     3.1. INTRODUCTION
     3.2. RE-STATING GERGEN'S POSITION
     3.3. NON-FACTUALISM DEFINED
          3.3.1. The Fregean approach to assertoric and