Chapter 6: Considering The Philosophies of Wittgenstein, Dewey, and Rorty as Potential Foundations for C-ID

Four social science theories—behaviorism (Skinner), cognitive constructivism (Piaget), social constructivism (Vygotsky), and critical theory—are commonly used as foundations for development and practice in the field of instructional technology. Different developers and educators, however, have taken diverse views on theory, from ignorant or informed ignoring to tenacious adherence to the tenets of a single theory. The chapter will suggest that theories of teaching and learning are actually expressions of more basic philosophical and epistemological positions. The chapter will develop a conceptual scaffolding for relating practice and learning theory to “bedrock” philosophy and epistemology. It suggests that Rorty's version of democratic pragmatism, which is based on the work of Wittgenstein and Dewey, offers a sound foundation, and justification, for an integrative polytheorism that can guide research and practice in IT and the practice of instructional design (ID).