Critical Realism
eBook - PDF

Critical Realism

Basics and Beyond

  1. 172 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Critical Realism

Basics and Beyond

About this book


Winner: Cheryl Frank Memorial Prize for innovative writing on critical realism

This new textbook offers a succinct yet broad introduction to critical realism, an increasingly popular approach to the philosophy of science that provides a holistic alternative to both positivism and postmodernism.

This text sets out the central concepts, arguments and understandings in critical realism and relates them to social scientific practice. In addition to answering the question 'what is critical realism?', the authors consider critical realism in light of two crucial themes in contemporary society – neoliberalism and climate change – which run as common threads throughout the chapters. While some introductions to the topic focus exclusively on the work of Roy Bhaskar – critical realism's best-known proponent – this text covers a much wider range of thinkers and social researchers, and also features Key Concept boxes and CR in Action boxes throughout to aid the reader through this complex yet rewarding subject.

This text is the perfect entry point for all those studying critical realism for the first time, or for those seeking to re-familiarise themselves with this approach. Whether you're studying critical realism as part of a broader course on the philosophy of science or seeking to apply critical realist methods to a particular research project, this book is essential reading for the social sciences, humanities and beyond.

Information

Publisher
Bloomsbury Academic
Year
2020
Print ISBN
9781352010671
Edition
1
eBook ISBN
9781352010664
Topic
Social Sciences
Subtopic
Philosophy History & Theory
Index
Social Sciences
97
Neoliberalism, 
Growth 
and the Climate 
Crisis
decade 
turn 
out 
to 
be 
just 
a 
ripple 
on 
the 
surface 
in 
the 
troubled 
waters 
of 
neo-
liberal 
decline. 
It 
seems 
likely 
that 
they 
will. 
However, 
in 
the 
unlikely 
event 
that 
high 
and 
persistent 
growth 
rates 
suddenly 
materialise 
in 
the 
OECD, 
it 
would 
be 
necessary – 
as 
a 
critical 
realist – 
to 
re-evaluate 
current 
theories 
and 
analyses 
of 
the 
tendency.
GREEN 
GROWTH 
OR 
POST-CAPITALISM?
What 
are 
the 
current 
main 
political 
projects 
relating 
to 
the 
climate 
crisis? 
How 
convincing 
are 
the 
various 
projects, 
and 
to 
what 
extent 
do 
each 
of 
them 
cur-
rently 
shape 
political 
action? 
To 
address 
such 
questions 
from 
a 
critical 
realist 
perspective, 
one 
would 
need 
to 
conduct 
a 
thorough 
analysis 
of 
the 
existing 
political 
landscape, 
drawing 
dynamically 
on 
both 
substantive 
theory 
and 
empi-
rical 
sources. 
Aside 
from 
identifying 
the 
projects 
(discourses), 
one 
also 
needs 
to 
consider 
what 
constellation 
of 
agents 
supports 
them 
and 
how 
conducive 
the 
structural 
context 
is 
to 
their 
realisation. 
Indeed, 
it 
is 
essential 
that 
analyses 
of 
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
%
1961-1969
1970-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999
2000-2009
2010-2018
Figure 
6.3 
Average 
GDP 
growth 
per 
capita 
in 
OECD 
countries
Data 
source: 
https://data.worldbank.org/

Table of contents

  1. Contents
  2. List of Figures, Tables and Boxes
  3. Acknowledgements
  4. 1: Critical Realism in Times of Crisis
  5. 2: Realism(s) and the Critique of Positivism
  6. 3: Basics: Ontology and Epistemology
  7. 4: Basics: Transcending Dualisms
  8. 5: Practicing Critical Realism
  9. 6: Neoliberalism, Growth and the Climate Crisis
  10. 7: Discourses and (De)constructions
  11. 8: Contemporary Critical Realism
  12. 9: What Critical Realism Is (Not)
  13. Bibliography
  14. Index

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