Piaget No 'Remedy' for Kuhn, But the Two Should be Read Together: Comment on Tsou's 'Piaget vs. Kuhn on Scientific Progress'.

PIAGET, Jean, 1896-1980; PHILOSOPHERS; CONSTRUCTIVISM (Psychology); THEORY of knowledge; TELEOLOGY

In arguing that the philosophical works of Jean Piaget could be used as a 'remedy' for the flaws in those of Thomas Kuhn, Tsou overlooked some crucial aspects of the problem: the early history between them, the biological foundation supporting Piaget's method, and a preexisting suggestion regarding the intended future extension of his work. There was also no mention of the existence of a 'lost' manuscript by Kuhn, which supposedly presents the mature articulation of his theory. This comment therefore proposes some 'friendly amendments' to Tsou's exposition, with a view to helping achieve his synthetic vision once the 'lost' work has finally been published. Yet the basic message, in anticipation of this future endeavor, is also exceedingly simple: the implicit direction of Piaget's (and Kuhn's) epistemological constructivism can be characterized as evolutionary-developmental 'progress from,' rather than vitalist-teleological 'progress toward.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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