Reflections on the Concept of Experience and the Role of Consciousness. Unfinished Fragments
Ernst von Glasersfeld & Edith K. Ackermann
Log in to download the full text for free
> Citation
> Similar
> References
> Add Comment
Abstract
Context: The idea to write this paper sprang up in a casual conversation that led to the question of how the word “experience” would be translated into German. Distinctions between the German “Erleben” and “Erfahren,” and their intricacies with “Erkennen” and “Anerkennen,” soon led to the conviction that this was a thread worth pursuing. Problem: Much has been written about the nature of experience, but there is little consensus, to this day, regarding the role of consciousness in the process of experiencing. Although RC acknowledges the significance of tacit or sensorimotor knowledge in the individual’s practical operating, it cannot admit it as a basis to the formation of conceptual structures that, by definition, are conscious. Method: Drawing from our backgrounds in epistemology and psychology, and a shared interest in Piaget’s psychogenetic approach, we investigate the origins and development of human experience, in this case the mastery of space, time, causation, and object-permanency. We focus on how “noticeable encounters” are gauged, reflected upon, and ultimately worked through, consciously or unconsciously, by the “experiencer.” Results: A child’s abilities to enact a certain action pattern in a given situation no more demonstrates a re-presentation of the pattern than does recognition in the case of objects. In his studies with children, Piaget has shown that the Kantian categories of space, time object, and “causality” are co-constitutive of the child’s own motion – and its felt impact – as a means to make the world cohere. Of importance here are the concepts of “effective causality,” felicitous encounters, and agency. Implications: Understanding the circumstances under which some “lived” events, whether self-initiated or striking as if out of nowhere, become noticeable and able affect a person’s life is a daunting task. This joint essay is no more than a conversation-starter and an invitation to further explore the intricacies between agency and causation, sensation and cognition, and, yes, motions and emotions in the making of consciousness itself.
Key words: psychogenesis, space-time, effective causality, empiricism, Immanuel Kant, William James, Jean Piaget
Citation
Glasersfeld E. von & Ackermann E. K. (2011) Reflections on the concept of experience and the role of consciousness. Unfinished fragments. Constructivist Foundations 6(2): 193–203. http://constructivist.info/6/2/193
Export article citation data:
Plain Text ·
BibTex ·
EndNote ·
Reference Manager (RIS)
Similar articles
References
Ackermann E. (1991) From decontextualized to situated knowledge: Revisiting Piaget’s water-level experiment. In: Harel I. & Papert S. (eds.) Constructionism. Ablex: Norwood NJ: 269–295.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Ackermann E. (2004) Time, and changes over time. A child’s view in children, play, and time. In: Knoop H. H. (ed.) Essays on the art of transforming stress to joyful challenges. Danish University of Education Press, Copenhagen: 101–113.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Berkeley G. (1950) Philosophical commentaries, 1706–1708.In: Luce A. A. & Jessop T. E. (eds.) The works of George Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne, Volume 1. Nelson, London: 7–104.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Bringuier J-C. (1977) Conversations libbres avec Jean Piaget. Laffont, Paris. (Quote in the text translated by Ernst von Glasersfeld.)
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Brunschwicg L. (1912) Les étapes de la philosophie mathématique. Alcan, Paris.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Clark H. H. (1973) Space, time, semantics, and the child. In: Moore T. E. (ed.) Cognitive development and the acquisition of language. Academic Press, New York.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Forman G. E. (1982) A search for the origins of equivalence concepts through a microanalysis of block play. In: Forman G. E. (ed.) Action and thought. From sensorimotor schemes to symbolic operations. Academic Press, New York: 97–134.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Glasersfeld E. von (1981) The conception and perception of number. In: Geeslin W. E. & Wagner S. (eds.) Models of mathematical and cognitive development. ERIC, Columbus OH: 15–46.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Gruber H. E. & Vonèche J. J. (eds.) (1977) The essential Piaget. Basic Books, New York.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Hankins T. L. (1976) Algebra as pure time: William Rowan Hamilton and the foundations of algebra. In: Machamer P. K. & Turnbull R. G. (eds.) Motion and time, space and matter: Interrelations in the history of philosophy and science. Ohio State University Press: Columbus OH: 327–359.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Helmholtz H. von (1867) Handbuch der physiologischen Optik L. Voss, Leipzig.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Hume D. (2005) An enquiry concerning human understanding. Digireads.com Publishing, Stilwell KS. Originally published in 1784.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
James W. (1981) The principles of psychology. Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA. Originally published in 1890.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Locke J. (1959) An essay concerning human understanding, Volume 1. Edited by A. C. Fraser. Dover, New York. Originally published in 1690.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Oxford English Dictionary Compact Edition (1971) Oxford University Press, Oxford.
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Piaget J. (1937) La construction du réel chez l’enfant. Delachaux et Niestlé, Neuchâtel. (Quote in the text translated by Ernst von Glasersfeld.)
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Piaget J. (1946) Le développement de la notion du temps. Presses Universitaires de France, Paris. (Quote in the text translated by Ernst von Glasersfeld.)
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Vaihinger H. (1913) Die Philosophie des Als Ob [The philosophy of as if]. Second edition. Reuther & Reichard, Berlin. (Quote in the text translated by Ernst von Glasersfeld.)
▸︎ Google︎ Scholar
Comments: 0
To stay informed about comments to this publication and post comments yourself, please log in first.