Ontoparadigms: A de-struction of social constructionism in the context of Heidegger's conception of truth

This thesis de-constructs social constructionism in the context of Heidegger?s conception of truth and develops the concept of ontoparadigm as a result of this de-struction in order to deal with some basic problems arising within Heidegger?s philosophy as well as within contemporary constructionist philosophy. While its main goal is a de-struction of social constructionism, in a Heideggerian sense, the thesis also develops a critique of the traditional sociology of science and a critique of Rorty?s neopragmatism, presenting these two critiques as two moments serving the main goal.The relation between nature and society is interpreted by social constructionism in a way that covers up and makes invisible the onto-logical structure lying behind the so called ?constructive? interactions between nature and society. This thesis uncovers this ontological structure through the introduction of the concept of ontoparadigm while it employs a threefold phenomenological methodology taken from Heidegger: (1) Phenomenological reduction, (2) phenomenological destruction, and (3) phenomenological construction. In the first moment, the concept of construction as encountered in social constructionism is reduced to the concept of constitution in a Kantian sense by being bracketed and traced back to its Kantian source. Behind social constructionism, there is an implicitly presupposed and degenerated form of Kantian metaphysics, which the thesis brings to light. This phenomenological reduction of ?construction? to ?constitution? happens necessarily in the form of a destruction of the traditional concept of construction as well as the doctrine of social constructionism, which cover the ontological structure of ontoparadigm. The third moment of the threefold methodology appears as the positive moment, which is the phenomenological construction of the concept of ontoparadigm on the basis of Heidegger?s conception of truth as A-letheia within the context of his interpretation of Plato?s allegory of the cave. After the construction of the concept and the phenomenon of ontoparadigm, the thesis applies the concept to the historical case of ?the Galileo affair?. Through this case study, the conflict of the modern/Galilean ontoparadigm with the Aristotelian/Ptolemaic ontoparadigm is studied as an example of how ontoparadigms function as coersive onto-ethical/onto-political regimes of Being and how ontological norms of ontoparadigms intertwine with social, political, legal norms and constitute certain conceptions and conflicting models of nature, which result in socio-political conflicts.The task of the thesis appears as the uncovering of the structure of ontoparadigm neutrally without defending it as a legitimate structure in a philosophically normative sense. It marks a phenomenon belonging to the metaphysical tradition, which Heidegger criticizes sharply and characterizes as ?inauthenticity? and ?the forgottenness of Being? (Seinsvergessenheit). Following Heidegger, the thesis also de-constructs the concept of ontoparadigm after constructing it. Such a second destruction aims to reach the ontological source out of which its Being arises. In this last step, ?onto-paradigm? is reduced to the more original concept of Seinsfuge ?which Heidegger introduces in his late philosophy? and reaches the original (ursprünglich) temporality of Being, in which the possibility of an alternative, authentic way of thinking is pointed out. In such a way of thinking, the ontoparadigmatic forgottenness of Being is overcome.