Ontological Aspects of Functional Contextualism: An Epistemological Assessment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15381/7tpzxr63Keywords:
functional contextualism, pragmatism, a-ontological position, realism, antirealismAbstract
Functional Contextualism (FC) constitutes the philosophy that supports the so-called Contextual Behaviorism within the framework of study of psychology. One of the current controversies refers to its position within the realism/ anti-realism debate, where it assumes an agnostic or a-ontological position, which qualifies as null and void to answer the question about the existence of an observer-independent reality according to its pragmatist commitment. Its critics argue that this constitutes an anti-realist argument and that it is contradictory to behaviorism in general. The objective will be to present the reasons that justify presenting the a-ontological position as anti-realist and to demonstrate that this does not present a contradiction with a pragmatist conception of contextual behaviorism. The analysis of arguments and interpretation of texts is used as a methodology. The analysis throws up the possibility of an anti-realist position within the CF considering the conceptual use and the behavior of the scientist himself.
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