> Quoting Brian Siano <siano at mail.med.upenn.edu>:
>
>> the question was "What does 'socially constructed' mean?"
http://www.infopt.demon.co.uk/extracts.htm A Critique of Social Constructionism and Postmodern Queer Theory by Rictor Norton TABLE OF CONTENTS The Uses of Gay History Social Constructionism Essentialism Gender Nonconformity Sexual Identities Discourse versus Desire The Uses and Abuses of Theory Homosexual Identities Passive Roles Sexual Orientation Exclusive Homosexuality Bisexuality Expanded August 2002 The Myth of the Modern Homosexual The Term 'Homosexual' A False 'Birth' The Medicalization of Homosexuality Internalized Homophobia Inversion and Subversion Intergenerational and Egalitarian Models Capitalism and the Family Labelling Theory The 'Sodomite' and the 'Lesbian' Queer Language Queer Culture vs. Homophobic Discourse The False Charge of 'Anachronism' Political Definitions of 'The Lesbian' Queer Subcultures
http://www.hup.harvard.edu/reviews/HACSOC_R.html "The Social Construction of What?, " by Ian Hacking. [A] spirited and eminently readable book...Hacking's book is an admirable example of both useful debunking and thoughtful and original philosophizing- -an unusual combination of good sense and technical sophistication. After he has said his say about the science wars, Hacking concludes with fascinating essays on, among other things, fashions in mental disease, the possible genesis of dolomitic rock from the activity of nanobacteria, government financing of weapons research, and the much-discussed question of whether the Hawaiians thought Captain Cook was a god. In each he makes clear the contingency of the questions scientists find themselves asking, and the endless complexity of the considerations that lead them to ask one question rather than another. The result helps the reader see how little light is shed on actual scientific controversies by either traditionalist triumphalists or postmodern unmaskers.
--Richard Rorty, Atlantic Monthly
The Social Construction of What? explores the significance of the idea of social construction, not simply in science but also in other arenas...Hacking's arguments are important.
Kenan Malik-, The Independent [UK] ( http://www.kenanmalik.com/ )
Hacking's good humour and easy style make him one of those rare contemporary philosophers I can read with pleasure.
--Steven Weinberg,, Times Literary Supplement -- Michael Pugliese