Читать книгу The Sage Handbook of Social Constructionist Practice - Группа авторов - Страница 25

While there are obstacles to the continued flourishing of relevant practices, there are profound reasons for energetically pressing ahead. We confront a world in which the world's peoples are both closer together and further apart than ever before. Not only are there more people moving across the globe than at any point in history, but technology enables instantaneous communication among people at virtually any location. These same technologies, however, enable the convictions of any group to be sustained and intensified through continuous interchange. The relations among peoples thus degenerate; callousness, defensiveness, exploitation, and aggression are commonplace. We find ourselves, then, immersed in a drift toward mutual annihilation.

It is in just such conditions that the kinds of ideas and practices represented in this Handbook are most vitally needed. The constructionist dialogues themselves invite a humility with respect to one's own convictions, as they remind us that our beliefs and values have no foundations other than those which we create together. Invited as well is a curiosity about others’ beliefs and ways of life, as these will contain insights and possibilities that may enrich the human venture. And, as we have seen, constructionist theory invites a posture of creativity, emphasizing our potentials for co-creating new and more inclusive ways of life. The practices shared within this Handbook provide both a direction toward a more promising future, and the confidence that it can be achieved.