Book Review: An Invitation to Social Construction

Twenty-five years ago, I attended the training course of an existential psychotherapy body. One of the modules, on dreams, began with the speaker focusing our minds on some words of Chung Tsu the Taoist sage:- "Last night I dreamt I was a butterfly, am I now a man who last night dreamt he was a butterfly? Or am I now a butterfly dreaming he is a man?" The speaker added, "But of course, most of us know we are men...... " Apart from the obvious sexism, (he was speaking to a mixed group) the lip service paid to this profound existentialist position is something that shocked and disappointed me on that day, and continues to disappoint me each time I re-experience it from philosophers, psychotherapists, and students/supervisees.

To be congruent with the central theme of (his book it is important that I first tell you some relevant information.

1. I asked to review this book for the journal because I was expecting to like it here
2. The three main theoretical bases for my work as a psychotherapist are: existentialism, various Indian philosophies and social construction theory. I am biased.

Kenneth Gergen is Mustin Professor of Psychology at Swarthmore College, USA. For the past twenty years his professional career has been dedicated to social construction theory. He is a leading figure in this area. I have been waiting many years for the arrival of a basic introduction, a clear jargon-free text, to be able to recommend to those whom I wanted to influence in the direction of post-modernist, social construction theory and therefore therapy! Gregory Bateson was the first academic writer who impressed me by his ability to get right inside a point of view and then step back from it again to question it's authenticity, and then to step back further, to question the questioning! Gergen has this humility and honesty again and again. (If only we could all remember we are only guessing.) Gergen's writing is beautifully clear and free from jargon. This is a positive delight after reading so many almost incomprehensible volumes of European existentialism, or post-modern philosophy, which appears to have a sub-text to distance and alienate all those not in the club, not having the CODE! Gergen actually writes as if he wants everyone to understand what he thinks. This is in line with the central idea of the book, the end part of which is strongly focused on how to achieve dialogue; communication; contact.

Social construction is the idea that our view of reality does not have any kind of justifiable validity based on good theory, clear-sightedness, scientific rationalism, wholistic intuition, or any other kind of idea that could lead one into feeling that one knows the truth. Truth is forever beyond pinning down. We live in a relativistic universe. From a social constructionist standpoint both the rational and the real are by-products of communal relations.

Social constructionist dialogues - of cutting edge significance within the social sciences and humanities - concern the processes by which humans generate meaning together. Our focus is on how social groups create and sustain beliefs in the real, the rational, and the good. We recognise that as people create meaning together, so do they sew the seeds of action. Meaning and action are entwined. As we generate meaning together we create the future. (Taos Institute web site)

To imagine that as 'the psychotherapist' I can label:

1. the problem
2. your interests
3. the best way forward

or even to imagine that the two of us, 'the psychotherapist' and 'the client', can 'fix the problem', is merely to accept common convention. To 'fix you' up', either according to the medical model, the existential idea, or even the social constructionist theory, is possibly, perhaps probably, all an illusion. In these ways we diminish the possibility for the mutual construction of the real, we stay in the dream. As society is a social construction the therapist with their client will not discover the truth, search out or understand a hidden structure. They will merely construct together a new 'game', in Wittgenstein's sense of that word. Hopefully one which is more to the clients taste, this is after all what they are paying for isn't it?

The most common criticism of social construction, and post-modernism, and also Zen Buddhism, is that they leave us in a nihilistic position. Being able to believe in nothing in particular; not being able to claim that any one thing is real, leads to the assumption that nothing can be said. This usually leads to an apoplectic throwing up of the hands and dismissal of all further investigation. Gergen however, presumably anticipating this reaction spends half of his book setting out exactly what we can do in this relativistic universe. 'In the beginning is the relationship.' states Martin Buber in 'I and Thou'. The second part of this book starts with the idea of the centrality of the relationship as opposed to the centrality of the individual. This is an idea familiar to any Gestaltist. 'Relational Selves' generate what we call reality between 'themselves'. And they do this via 'Dialogue'. We can only possibly reach agreement by staying talking with each other. "It is because the answer is too simple that we fail to see it." Gergen then takes a practical look at this theory in terms of therapy, organizations, and educational applications. What can we DO in a relational world? His answers and possibilities are anything but nihilistic.

In the final section Gergen also attempts to question Constructionism itself, which is a very nice change. His references and suggestions for further reading range from Descartes to Derrida, from Buber to Nietzsche, from Wittgenstein to Goffman. An invitation to social construction, is then for me, another chance from another area, to challenge our idea, that we know what we are talking about. Our Existentialism comes to us partly from India via Denmark. Social Constructionist thought comes in part from India via China, Japan and West Coast North America. The words are different but much of the feel is the same.

This book lives up to its title; it is indeed 'an invitation'. Where most 'invitations' are more, 'a beginner's guide too....', Gergen seems to be saying to his audience, "have a look at this, what do you think?" I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this slim volume to any student or experienced practitioner - we all need reminding regularly of our lack of ownership of the truth.

I like and value this book - but then I would say that wouldn't I, I am biased, I like and value it.

Claire John

References

Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an Ecology of Mind. Chandler.
Buber, M. (1937). I and Thou. Clark, Edinburgh.