The Right Key

I found Von Glasersfeld’s analogy of the lock and key especially interesting. He explains our knowledge of the world through the idea of a lock and key. Traditional epistemologists explain our knowledge through matching. Von Glasersfeld uses the example of re-painting a room to explain epistemologists’ explanation of knowledge. It is evident that when re-painting a room it is extremely hard to find paint that will exactly match the paint already on the walls. Von Glasersfeld argues that instead of matching our knowledge to the world, or reality, we should find the right fit much like the way that a key fits in a lock. The fit of the key explains the capacity of the key, not the lock. Thus many keys, or knowledge of different people, can fit many different locks, and allow people to experience the reality of the world in different ways. I believe that Von Glasersfeld’s radical constructivism allows people to develop knowledge of their reality at their own pace that is best suited for them. Perhaps this is why many educators embrace Von Glasersfeld’s idea of finding a fit rather than a match for knowledge.