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Knowledge, Consequences, and Experience

The Social Construction of Environmental Problems

Bibliographic Data

ID2274562
AuthorsJerry Williams, Jerry L Williams (Stephen F. Austin State University, corresponding author)
Year1998
Volume68
Issue4
Pages476-497
Publication date1998-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Inquiry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0245 • E-ISSN: 1475-682X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1475-682x.1998.tb00481.x
OpenAlexW2122665943
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited56

Perhaps one of the most obvious yet difficult questions confronting sociologists concerned with large-scale environmental problems is an epistemological one: How do we know what we know about the state of the environment? This paper explores the realist and constructionist approaches to environmental-social problems and finds both inadequate as currently formulated. A case is made for a phenomenological constructionism that moves beyond relativism and simple definitional constructionism by exploring how we actually experience the world. This approach recognizes the existence of a natural world independent of our constructions, yet suggests that our knowledge of it is always mediated, indirect, and pragmatically motivated

Constructionism · Environmental sociology · Epistemology · Natural (archaeology) · Relativism · Simple (philosophy) · Social constructionism · Social science · Sociology · Strict constructionism · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management · History · Philosophy · Risk Perception and Management

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Unique citing works14
Citations per year0,54
Citation span2000 - 2023 (24)
Citation velocityhistorical
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 13
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