Critical Realism

Ryan, A., Tähtinen, J., Vanharanta, M. and Mainela, T. (2012) Putting critical realism to work in the study of business relationship processes, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 41(2) 300-311.

by Jaana Tähtinen

The complexity of business relationships and networks presents particular challenges to researchers aiming to... more The complexity of business relationships and networks presents particular challenges to researchers aiming to investigate processes over time. Critical Realism is proving to be particularly apposite in the study of such processes. Notwithstanding the growing use of critical realism, we acknowledge that is not an easy ontology to apply. In addition, characteristics of business relationships and industrial networks lead to specific challenges
in the application of Critical Realism. This paper fills this methodological gap by offering clear support in the design and execution of a study on business relationships and networks using critical realism as ontology.
We identify specific methodological challenges related to the field of industrial marketing, and how these challenges may be overcome. This will involve a discussion on how this perspective affects our view of business relationships and networks, the research design, and the theorization process, moving from
thick description common in small N studies towards analytical generalization. This paper contributes to existing discussion on the use of critical realism in industrial marketing research with the introduction of a 4-task Critical Realist Research Spiral to guide researchers in the consistent use of this ontological position. This is supported by nine reflective questions to guide researchers throughout the research process.

Social Constructionism as Ontology: Exposition and Example

by john cromby

This paper contends that anti-realist claims regarding the
‘nature’ of social constructionism and the world it... more This paper contends that anti-realist claims regarding the
‘nature’ of social constructionism and the world it describes are erroneous.Specifically, we argue that claims regarding the impossibility of referentiality and objectivity—often seen as defining characteristics of constructionism—mistake both the nature of the subject matter at hand and the consequences that follow from theoretical critiques of naıve objectivism
and realism. Drawing upon the (critical) realist philosophy of science,we illustrate, through the use of a particular case study, that the version of constructionism proposed here is more compelling, credible and has greater utility than others that have been offered.

Tsilipakos - 2012 - Poverty of Ontological Reasoning

by Leonidas Tsilipakos

Eleştirel Gerçekçilik: Uluslararası İlişkiler Kuramında Post-Pozitivizm Sonrası Aşama

by Uluslararası İlişkiler

Faruk Yalvaç, " Eleştirel Gerçekçilik: Uluslararası İlişkiler Kuramında Post-Pozitivizm Sonrası Aşama ", Uluslararası İlişkiler, Cilt 6, Sayı 24 (Kış), 2009

Eleştirel gerçekçilik Uluslararası İlişkiler kuramının gündemine artan bir şekilde yerleşen bir bilim felsefesidir.... more Eleştirel gerçekçilik Uluslararası İlişkiler kuramının gündemine artan bir şekilde yerleşen bir bilim felsefesidir. Uluslararası İlişkiler kuramı açısından en önemli özelliği uluslarası ilişkilerin incelenmesinde odak noktasını epistemolojiden ontolojiye kaydırmasıdır. Eleştirel gerçekçiliğin materyalist ontolojisine göre kişilerin gözlem ve duyumlarından bağımsız bir gerçek vardır. Bu, gerçeği gözlemlenebilen olgularla sınırlayan pozitivist bilim anlayışına olduğu kadar gerçeğin dilsel ya da söylemsel olduğunu ileri süren post-pozitivist yaklaşımlara da alternatif bir bilim felsefesidir. Eleştirel gerçekçilik uluslararası ilişkileri farklı ontolojik derinliği olan bir toplumsal ilişkiler bütününün parçası olarak görmekte, uluslararası yapıları toplumsal ilişkiler açısından tanımlamakta, yapı ile yapıyı oluşturan birimler arasındaki ilişkiyi dönüşümsel bir toplumsal eylem modeli etrafında geliştirerek hem iradeciliğin hem de yeni-gerçekçi yapısalcılığın tek yanlı determinizmine alternatif bir yaklaşımın ilkelerini sunmaktadır.

Walker, S. and Creanor, L. (2012). Towards an ontology of networked learning. In: 8th International Conference on Networked Learning 2012 , Edited by: Hodgson V, Jones C, de Laat M, McConnell D, Ryberg T & Sloep P, 02-04 April 2012, Maastricht, Netherlands.

by Steve Walker

Networked learning, conceived of as networks of people, informational resources and technologies, constitutes what has... more Networked learning, conceived of as networks of people, informational resources and technologies, constitutes what has been termed a ‘highly interwined’ technology. In this paper we develop our earlier argument that sociotechnical networks can form the basis for a non-determinist theory of learning technology.

Firstly, we argue that Kling et al’s sociotechnical interaction network (STIN) is compatible with a realist ontology, drawing on Fleetwood’s ‘ontology of the real’ and Lawson’s proposition of the social nature of the artefact in networks of ‘positioned practices’. This, we suggest, gives a more secure basis for the STIN concept, and provides a clear alternative to actor network theory (ANT)-based views of sociotechnical networks which do not distinguish between the influence of human and material agents. This also, we argue, provides an alternative way of anchoring concepts from the social informatics literature, often influenced by Giddens’ structuration theory, in ways that can help networked learning research.

Secondly, we explore some potential implications of such an approach for theories of networked learning and learning more widely. In particular, we suggest a possible ontology of elements of learning technology. The use of the word ‘learning’ here is somewhat problematic, as it is routinely used rather loosely to describe changes at multiple levels but which are likely to have rather different underlying mechanisms. A more thorough ontology of learning technology would allow us to distinguish between these uses and identify potentially distinct mechanisms at play in different forms and levels of learning.

Thirdly, we use this approach to explore how viewing learning technologies as sociotechnical networks helps to clarify our thinking about identities in social networking for personal, learning and professional purposes.

logic intersubjectivity and meaning

by Oliver Kessler

Between Naturalism and Rationalism: A New Realist Landscape

by Fabio Gironi

A review essay of  Bryant, L., Srnicek, N. and Harman, G. 2011. The Speculative Turn: Continental Realism and Materialism. Melbourne: re.press.

Forthcoming in the Journal of Critical Realism

Embedded Neo-Mercantilism in the Post-Bretton Woods Economy: Balance of Payments Adjustment from Petrodollars to Sinodollars

by David Spiro

Presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association
1-4 April 2012

For the past decade policy-makers, legislators from both side of the aisle, academic observers, and business people... more For the past decade policy-makers, legislators from both side of the aisle, academic observers, and business people have made contradictory statements regarding the US and Chinese balance of payments.  Those in the United States have called Chinese practices unfair, because the Chinese government is “artificially” undervaluing its currency vis a vis the US dollar, and vis a vis the rest of the world.  This makes Chinese exports cheaper, and the claim in the US seems to be that US exports and jobs have suffered as a result.

At the same time, the United States has funded its budget deficit by selling treasury obligations to the Chinese government.  The US economy is a net borrower from foreigners, and this means that we must absorb savings from abroad.  At the same time that a broad group in the United States calls for China to bring its trade account into balance, the US depends upon an imbalance in the Chinese capital account to fund US deficits.  Contrary to the claims of US government officials and congressmen, it is in the short-term interest of both the United States and China for the US to have a trade deficit with China that is funded by Chinese purchases of government debt.

I will argue that the contradictory and hypocritical policy toward China is explained by a new “social purpose” that characterizes both US foreign economic policy and to some extent the content of international economic relations; and following John Ruggie’s seminal work, I label this social purpose embedded neo-mercantilism.  The United States would like to see international openness in international trade and in the international monetary system, so long as that means it is competitive in international markets and so long as it is able to fund the twin deficits in international capital markets.  Whereas before the United States  served as a legitimate authority to maintain a system of embedded liberalism, in the post-Bretton Woods system it has competed with international institutions and relied upon international capital markets to continue its exorbitant privilege of funding foreign wars with the savings of foreigners.

In economic terms it is contradictory to call for China to up-value its currency, balance its trade account, and amass dollar reserves in the form of US government obligations.  But the social purpose of embedded liberalism—striving for international openness while maintaining control over the domestic economy—might also be seen as contradictory in purely economic terms.  From the viewpoint of embedded neo-mercantilism, the contradiction between the policies of trade competitiveness and funding twin deficits is consistent.

Beyond (Post)Positivism: The Missed Promises of Systemic Pragmatism

by Inanna Hamati-Ataya

Forthcoming: International Studies Quarterly 56(2), 2012

This paper explores Pragmatism’s potential for transcending the antagonism between positivism and post-positivism,... more This paper explores Pragmatism’s potential for transcending the antagonism between positivism and post-positivism, through the work of Morton Kaplan, who combines a Pragmatist theory of knowledge with a systems theory of world politics. A reconstruction of Kaplan’s synoptic philosophy shows how Pragmatism can help us move beyond the dual fallacy of truth as correspondence and truth as self-consciousness, to a non-foundationalist epistemology that acknowledges the historicity of knowing without annihilating the realism of the common world we live in. Moving from the realm of knowledge to the realm of judgment, this paper also reconstructs Kaplan’s moral analysis, thereby revealing its significance for IR’s renewed concern for the problems of values and reflexivity.

‘Was Nietzsche a Cognitivist?’

by Kenneth R Westphal

‘Nietzsche’s Sting and the Possibility of Good Philology’.

by Kenneth R Westphal

Theorizing the Obesity Epidemic: Health Crisis, Moral Panic, and Emerging Hybrids

by Matt Patterson

Co-authored with Josée Johnston.
Forthcoming in Social Theory & Health (Accepted October 2011).

The academic literature on obesity frequently bifurcates into two poles: a realist pole that treats obesity as a... more The academic literature on obesity frequently bifurcates into two poles: a realist pole that treats obesity as a biomedical fact, a health risk, and an ‘epidemic’, and a second, constructionist pole that adopts a critical view of obesity as a moral panic driven by political interests and cultural values. Drawing on a wide range of literature from epidemiology, medical sociology, public health, political economy, cultural studies, and popular journalism, this paper maps out a realist-constructionist divide within academia and the public sphere, and examines the insights and limitations of these perspectives. After mapping the main “silos” within obesity studies, we examine two key questions: (1) is the obesity epidemic based on medical fact or political interest, and (2), is obesity a disease or a social identity. Drawing from the metatheoretical principles of critical realism, we argue that obesity scholarship can be advanced by conceptualizing the obesity epidemic as a ‘hybrid’ construction that arises out of the interaction of biophysical, socio-economic, and cultural forces. This analysis demonstrates the useful role of social theory integrating diverse analytic perspectives, and bringing clarity to a heated public debate that characteristically points the finger of blame at obese individuals.

Critical realism and emancipatory practice

by Karey Harrison

Presented at , International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) Conference in Oslo, Norway, 22–24 June, 2001

Whereas Tony Lawson rejects the deductivism of epistemic realists, his preoccupation with law-like regularities aligns... more Whereas Tony Lawson rejects the deductivism of epistemic realists, his preoccupation with law-like regularities aligns him more closely with them than with the views of other members of a family of pragmatic realisms that, like ontological realists such as Lawson, are realists about causal mechanisms. This  preoccupation with event regularities leads to fundamental flaws both in his arguments against formalistic modelling and in his arguments for contrastive explanation. In contrast, by emphasising the centrality of action and manipulative success, pragmatic arguments for causal realism can be developed that both expose the relationship between power and knowledge, and show that non-exploitative social science research requires emancipatory practice.

Gender and critical realism: A critique of Sayer

by John Holmwood

In a recent article in this journal,Andrew Sayer has argued that much feminist research on the gendered nature of... more In a recent article in this journal,Andrew Sayer has argued that much feminist research on the gendered nature of organisations, such as bureaucracy and the market, confuses a contingent association of gender and organisational forms with a stronger claim that they are intrinsically gendered. Sayer accepts that this research has shown that the empirically found, concrete forms of organisations are gendered.However,deeper theoretical reflection, he suggests, reveals that, when considered as ‘abstract realist models’, bureaucracy and the market are, in fact, identity-blind.He makes two claims, one concerned with explanation, the other concerned with the political consequences of social inquiry.The first is that the construction of abstract models, rather than the ‘associational’ thinking concerned with the delineation of empirical regularities, is necessary to the
proper understanding of the operation of causal mechanisms and their mode of determination in social life. The second is that this will enable a more progressive and positive politics beyond a fatalism which he attributes to associational thinking.This paper
takes issue with both claims arguing that the abstract theory he defends has no positive role in social inquiry and that his political critique is misplaced.

Realismo, Animismo y Teoria de la Mente: caracteristicas culturales y universales del conocimiento mental [Realism, Animism and Theory of Mind: Cultural and …

by Laura Quintanilla

Geography - A Powerful Knowledge

by Benjamin Major

In this essay I am going to be taking a closer look at the question of ‘core knowledge’ and in particular what this... more In this essay I am going to be taking a closer look at the question of ‘core knowledge’ and in particular what this means for geography education. I shall be drawing upon some recent debates about the nature and purpose of geographical knowledge in schools before moving on to take a look at the emerging critical realist perspective on knowledge in education to show how this suggests the continuing importance of disciplinary knowledge such as geography. Finally, I draw upon the work of Michael Young and Leesa Wheelahan to demonstrate how geographical knowledge can be viewed as ‘powerful knowledge’ that is crucial for all young people, not least the most disadvantaged in our society.

Geography, Knowledge and School Subjects in the Curriculum

by Benjamin Major

MRes Dissertation

The recent education White Paper and the ensuing review of the curriculum attest to the fact that the question of... more The recent education White Paper and the ensuing review of the curriculum attest to the fact that the question of knowledge, and in particular subject knowledge, is very much on the educational agenda once again. What follows is a conceptual review of the literature on school knowledge and the place of school subjects therein. It is divided into two parts, with the first part comprising a sequential review of various theoretical perspectives on school knowledge, spanning both the philosophical and sociological literature. The second part takes a thematic approach, bringing together some of the themes that have repeatedly resurfaced in the foregoing review, connecting them to contemporary issues in education. The conclusion draws upon the insights reaped through this investigation in order to make a contribution to our current thinking about the place of subjects, and in particular geography, in the modern school curriculum. It will be argued that a subject based curriculum is still appropriate in the 21st century. It will further be argued that geography represents a particularly powerful form of knowledge that provides a language essential for taking part in many of society’s most important conversations. It will be thus asserted that access to the subject is vital for all young people, and in particular those from disadvantaged, working class backgrounds.

Relación social y realismo crítico en la obra de Pierpaolo Donati

by Paolo Terenzi

This paper aims to investigate the theoretic nucleus of relational sociology. Relational sociology
begins with... more This paper aims to investigate the theoretic nucleus of relational sociology. Relational sociology
begins with the observation that contemporary society is characterized by a progressive distancing
between the human and the social and consequently the social is no longer conceived
as a place for the human to inhabit. The human can be found outside of what constitutes the
social context, in the internal being of individuals, tastes, preferences, individual feelings, or in
the imagination and collective representation. Faced with such an historic outcome, relational sociology demands the presence of the human in social relations. The new theoretic paradigm
shows the necessary links —even if critical— between the human and the social in concrete
daily life. The making of society, that is the emergence of social forms, is interpreted as
the dynamics of the continual differentiation and reciprocal integration between the human
and the social.
Keywords: social relation, critical realism, AGIL scheme, functionalism, human.

The Content Analysis of Guidance-school Mathematics Books in Islamic Republic of Iran According to the Principles and Components of Constructive Realism Approach

by Khosrow Bagheri Noaparast

Introduction: This paper evaluated the contents of guidance-school mathematics books in Iran according to principles... more Introduction: This paper evaluated the contents of guidance-school mathematics books in Iran according to principles and components of constructive realism. Method: The method of content analysis is used in this study. 5 principles including 22 components were used for doing content analysis. Results: The results showed that two principles (establishing conceptual links between materials inside the book; fostering creativity in order to get learners to create new constructs) are confirmed at the level of 30%. Only one principle (the conceptual link) was confirmed at the levels of 50% and 70%. Conclusion: We conclude and suggest that components of philosophy of mathematics according to constructive realism should be used in providing better math books.

The Fourth Estate in the USA and UK: Discourses of truth and power

by Jesse Hearns-Branaman

unpublished PhD thesis

This thesis examines the ways in which political journalists in the USA and UK talk about issues of truth and power as... more This thesis examines the ways in which political journalists in the USA and UK talk about issues of truth and power as it relates to journalism’s role as the Fourth Estate. The theoretical basis comes from a critique of the two major structures underpinning the Fourth Estate, that of epistemology (the study of truth) and ideology (broadly, the study of power and ideas). This involves unpacking and critically examining the ability of news media to convey ‘true’ information and the ideological formations in which the news media production practice is situated. The epistemological theories of Realism, Pragmatism, Antirealism and Hyperrealism will first be elucidated in an in-depth theoretical discussion, focusing on the contributions of Baudrillard. Four major theories of ideology, that of personal ideological bias, chaos, control, and ideology as fetishistic disavowal will be examined, this time focusing on the work of Žižek.
This theoretical discussion is complimented by an analysis of interview questions relating to epistemological concerns and to ideology. The empirical data consists of twenty interviews conducted with political correspondents in the USA and UK. A version of critical discourse analysis is used to examine the ways in which journalists talk about the issues raised by the questions, what is termed their ‘discursive strategies.’ The categories for analysis are grounded in the discursive strategies used by the journalists themselves, examined to elaborate not simply the explicit content, but the deeper implicit meanings inherent in the way they answer.
This provided both an original theoretical discussion and an original set of empirically-derived data. It also allows us to further understand the role of journalism as the Fourth Estate, the types of ‘truth’ it brings to us, the types of ideologies that underpin the news production process via news media professionals, and how the system is maintained despite its inherent contradictions.