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Critical realism

Critical realism. Some essential features. Realism. … is a name of different philosophical standpoints that emphasises a reality independent of the human mind Empirical realism: Reality is constrained to the observable

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Critical realism

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  1. Critical realism Some essential features Anna Morvall, Tema T Critical realism

  2. Realism • … is a name of different philosophical standpoints that emphasises a reality independent of the human mind • Empirical realism: Reality is constrained to the observable • Critical realism: Reality consists of the observable and a more deep or complex level, which science is meant to uncover Anna Morvall, Tema T Critical realism

  3. Essence • “Essentialism” has been used as a term to describe and criticise what have been seen as problematic categorisations of people (“gender”, “race” ertcetera), where the “social” has been made “essential”/”natural”. • In critical realism “essence” means something else. • Essence = what something is at a certain point in time and space Anna Morvall, Tema T Critical realism

  4. The function of theory in realism • In Empirical realism: Describing • In Critical realism: Explaining. The goal is to identify the causal mechanisms of the object Anna Morvall, Tema T Critical realism

  5. The intransitive and the transitive • Science has two dimensions • The intransitive: The object of scientific knowledge. Primary qualities. Ontology • The transitive: Theories that connects science with reality. Secondary qualities. Epistemology • Ontology: Realist • Epistemology: Relativist Anna Morvall, Tema T Critical realism

  6. Three domains of reality Anna Morvall, Tema T Critical realism

  7. The concrete versus the abstract I • Abstraction is a core part of critical realism • Abstract versus concrete IS NOT about… • … more or less real. Compare “gender” to “gravitation”: they are both real but experienced through their consequences. • … covering reality Anna Morvall, Tema T Critical realism

  8. The concrete versus the abstract II • Abstract versus concrete IS about… • … lifting out, abstract, something from experiences/observations/empirical results • … isolation of certain constitutive aspects • ... trying to see the nature of the object, it’s essence Anna Morvall, Tema T Critical realism

  9. Structure • Domain of the real • Mechanisms • Causal links • Structures = relations • Structures exists: are real and relational • Structures are a constitutive for the objects • Structures are a bunch of internally related objects that makes an object what it is (socially or naturally) • Structures work on all levels, macro and micro Anna Morvall, Tema T Critical realism

  10. Different kinds of structures Anna Morvall, Tema T Critical realism

  11. Materialism in critical realism • Theory must always relate to the concrete: • Concrete  abstract, abstract  concrete • The concrete = empirical results = the material • Structures are something real, real relations • Have material consequences • Not to be seen, but to be experienced Anna Morvall, Tema T Critical realism

  12. Niililouto: different kinds of realisms • Onthology: What is real? Is there a mind-independent world? • Semantics: Is truth an objective language-world relation? • Epistemology: Is knowledge about the world possible? • Axiology: Is truth one of the aims of enquiry? • Methodology: What are the best methods for pursuing knowledge? • Ethics: Do moral values exist in reality? Anna Morvall, Tema T Critical realism

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