Externalism and Internalism in the History of Educational Theory—in defence of historical constructivism

Abstract

ABSTRACT The aim of the present article is to argue that a historical account of the development of educational theory should be based methodologically on an internalist approach. The article is divided into two main sections. In the first section three general problems in the theory of history are discussed—the semantic problem: ‘What do we mean by a historical account?‘—the epistemological problem: ‘What do we mean by saying that the account is correct or true?‘—and the ontological problem: ‘What can the account be said to be about?’ After a short reference to the viewpoints of common‐sense and traditional historiography, the section is dedicated to a discussion of historical realism. It is shown that two arguments can be raised against the position of historical realism—an epistemological argument based on historical scepticism and a semantic argument based on the ‘antirealist's challenge’ in the philosophy of language. The conclusion arrived at is that the position of historical constructivism answers...