ABSTRACT
The last three chapters have helped us in providing some basic insight into the constructivist position. This chapter and the next will try to sketch in the outline of a plausible and general understanding of constructivism. It has become clear that a conception of practical reasoning is central to constructivism. The notion of practical reasoning can usefully be discussed under the two broad headings ‘reasoning practically’ and ‘making our practice reasonable’. I find this approach useful because I have often been confused by broad-brush discussions of practical reasoning, and although what is involved in reasoning practically and making practice reasonable are not really separate questions, these issues are distinct enough that separating out their discussion simplifies matters. This chapter will concentrate on a constructivist understanding of reasoning practically.
