Transforming Social Representations

Common sense is, be definition, familiar to us all. Science, for some of us is remote. In Transforming Social Representations , Caroline Purkhardt explores the way we understand the dynamics of social knowledge and the means by which we change social reality. She argues that this necessitates a change of perspective from the individualistic and mechanistic assumptions of Cartesian science to the social and evolutionary perspective of a Hegelian framework. This not only emphasises the cultural and historical dimensions of social phenomena but also illuminates the social and dynamic nature of individuals. As a consequence, the discipline of social psychology must itself be transformed, recognising the active participation of scientists in the social construction of scientific knowledge. Transforming Social Representations will be of interest to those working in social psychology, history and philosophy of science and sociology.