• ARTICLES, Special Section, XIIIth Biennial Conference of the EPCA - 2016

The Dewey family reunion: Kelly’s man-the-scientist meets Rorty’s ironist.

Miletić, V., Stojnov, D.

Keywords:
Personal construct theory, subjectivity, neopragmatism, relationality

Abstract:
Kelly and Rorty share similar and compatible philosophical positions, based on their common pragmatic ancestry, particularly due to influences of John Dewey’s thought. We will show how, based on these similarities, we can draw parallels between Rorty’s conception of the eternally self-doubting ironist and her constructivist counterpart, Kelly’s man-the-scientist. Understanding liberal irony may prove fruitful in explicating and developing a constructivist theory of the subject; several features of the ironist will be considered as potential constituents of subjects created in personal construct psychotherapy. Goals of the psychotherapeutic process will be reconsidered in the light of these findings.