Constructive Metatheory: 1. Basic Features and Historical Foundations

Abstract

Abstract Constructive metatheory is playing an increasingly apparent role in the evolution of theories of human personality and psychotherapy. Three basic features of constructivism are outlined: (1) proactive cognition, (2) morphogenic nuclear structure, and (3) self-organizing development. Parallels to and relationships with evolutionary epistemology and autopoiesis are briefly noted. The emergence of constructive metatheory is traced from Vico, Kant, and Vaihinger to its diverse contemporary expressions.