The
Constructionist View of Communication: Promises and Challenges
ECREA
Philosophy of Communication Section Workshop,
Tel Aviv
18-20 September, 2019
What is
communication? There is no single answer to this fundamental question.
According to the (still prevailing) transmission view, communication consists
in the transfer of messages from sender to receiver. According to the
constructionist perspective, on the other hand, in the processes of
communication meanings are constituted, not merely transferred. This
perspective has many variants (the ritual/constitutive model, use-oriented
philosophical outlooks on linguistic meaning, social construction of
communication approach, or systems theory – to name only a few), and is pursued
(either explicitly or implicitly) by a variety of communication scholars, as
well as thinkers in related fields. At the same time, communication
constructionism still has its staunch opponents.
