Critical Realism
How to Learn Critical Realism
Christian Smith, University of Notre Dame (Fall 2013)
Critical Realism (CR) is, in my view, the most promising general approach to social science for best framing our research and theory. CR, as a philosophy of (social) science (not a sociological theory per se), offers the best alternative to the problems and limits presented by positivist empiricism, hermeneutical interpretivism, strong social constructionism, and postmodernist deconstruction. It is the meta-theoretical direction in which American sociology needs to move.
My own work in CR involves, first, What is a Person? Rethinking Humanity, Social Life, and the Moral Good from the Person Up (Chicago 2010) (with Moral, Believing Animals (OUP 2003) forming a pre-CR theoretical backdrop); and, second, To Flourish or Destruct: A Personalist Theory of Human Goods, Motivations, Failure, and Evil (Chicago 2014).
CR is a significant position within which scholars work in Britain, Scandinavia, and Europe. Yet few American sociologists are aware of the substance and importance of the CR account. CR is a genuinely alternative approach to reality and social science that requires serious, focused study and intellectual re-tooling in order to learn well enough to not simply fall back into the old assumptions, instincts, and paradigms. I suggest that those interested in learning CR read the following (mostly linked) chapters, books, and articles, roughly in the sequence specified.
1. A First, Quick Overview: Begin by reading these two short, easy works:
Andrew Sayer, “Introduction” (pp. 1-28), 2000, Realism and Social Science, New York: Sage.
2. A More Systematic Introduction: Next read this good introductory survey:
Andrew Collier, 1994, Critical Realism: An Introduction to Roy Bhaskar's Philosophy, London: Verso.
3. Some Methodological Implications: Perhaps next read these books, which spell out some of the broader conceptual and methodological implications of CR:
Andrew Sayer, 1992, Method in Social Science: A Realist Approach, New York: Routledge.
Douglas Porpora, 2001, "Do Realists Run Regressions?" In Garry Potter and Jose Lopez (eds.), After Postmodernism? Critical Realism, London: Continuum.
4. Some Foundational Works: Well worth engaging are two key early works:
Roy Bhaskar, 1975 / 2008, A Realist Theory of Science, London: Routledge.
Rom Harre and E.H. Madden, 1975, Causal Powers: A Theory of Natural Necessity, Oxford: Blackwell.
Roy Bhaskar, 1979 / 1998 (3rd ed.), The Possibility of Naturalism, London: Routledge.
5. Focus on Causality and Mechanisms: These readings help sharpen thinking about causation and mechanisms in social science, core issues in CR (about which more below):
Philip Gorski, 2009, “Social ‘Mechanisms’ and Comparative-Historical Sociology: A Critical Realist Proposal,” The Frontiers of Sociology, Björn Wittrock and Peter Hedström (eds.), Leiden: Brill.
Ruth Groff (ed.), 2008, Revitalizing Causality: Realism about Causality in Philosophy and Social Science, New York: Routledge (especially the chapter by Doug Porpora, “Sociology’s Causal Confusion”)
Douglas Porpora, 2008, “Recovering Causality: Realist Methods in Sociology,” in A. Maccarini, E. Morandi, R. Prandini (eds.), Sociological Realism, Genova-Milano: Marietti.
6. Pursue Specific Interests: Dig deeper into specific areas of possible interest, such as:
(a) Powers-Based-Causes Alternatives to Humeanism (by analytic philosophers, not necessarily CR, but who demonstrate the basic CR viewpoint):
Brian Ellis, 2001, Scientific Essentialism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Stephen Mumford, 2004, Laws in Nature, New York: Routledge.
Stephen Mumford, 2003, Dispositions, New York: Oxford University Press.
George Molnar, 2003, “Powers: A Study in Metaphysics,” in Stephen Mumford (ed.), Powers in a Study of Metaphysics, New York: Oxford University Press.
(b) Emergence—the Critical Realist Account
Philip Clayton and Paul Davies (eds.), 2006, The Re-Emergence of Emergence, New York: Oxford University Press (not explicitly CR but similar views).
(c) Critical Realist Theory of Social Structure, Culture, and Agency:
Margaret Archer, 1995, Realist Social Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Douglas Porpora, 1987, The Concept of Social Structure, New York: Greenwood Press.
Douglas Porpora, 1989, “Four Concepts of Social Structure,” Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, 19(2): 195-211.
Douglas Porpora, 2002, “Social Structure: The Future of a Concept,” in Sing Chew and J. David Knottnerus (eds.), Structure, Culture, and History, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
Douglas Porpora, 1993, "Cultural Rules and Material Relations," Sociological Theory, 11(2): 212-229.
Christian Smith, 2010, “The Personal Sources of Social Structures,” chapter 6 in Smith, What is a Person?: Rethinking Humanity, Social Life, and Moral Good from the Person Up.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
(d) Critical Realism and Empirical Methodology:
Ray Pawson, 1989, A Measure for Measures: A Manifesto for Empirical Sociology, London: Routledge.
Sam Porter, 2002, “Critical Realist Ethnography,” in Tim May (ed.), Qualitative Research in Action, London: Sage.
(e) Critical Realism and Historical-Comparative Sociology:
George Steinmetz, 1998, “Critical Realism and Historical Sociology,” Comparative Studies in Society and History, 40(1) (Jan): 170-186.
George Steinmetz, 2013, “Comparative History and its Critics: A Genealogy of the Debates and a Possible Resolution.” In Prasenjit Duara, Viren Murthy, and Andrew Sartori (eds.), A Companion to Global Historical Thought, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
Philip Gorski, 2009, “Social ‘Mechanisms’ and Comparative-Historical Sociology: A Critical Realist Proposal,” The Frontiers of Sociology, Björn Wittrock and Peter Hedström (eds.), Leiden: Brill. (forthcoming).
(f) Critical Realism and Human Personhood:
Margaret Archer, 2000, Being Human: The Problem of Agency, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
(g) Critical Realism and the History and Philosophy of Social Science:
Peter Manicas, 1989, A History and Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Peter Manicas, 2006, A Realist Philosophy of Social Science, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ian Craib and Ted Benton, 2010, Philosophy of Social Science, New York: Macmillan.
(h) Dialectical Critical Realism:
Roy Bhaskar, 2008, Dialectic: The Pulse of Freedom, London: Routlege [note: this book is tough sledding]
Roy Bhaskar, 1994, Plato, Etc.: Problems of Philosophy and their Resolution, London: Routledge.
(i) Human Flourishing, Ethical Naturalism, and Critical Realism:
Christian Smith, 2014, To Flourish or Destruct: A Personalist Theory of Human Goods, Motivations, Failure, and Evil, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Phil Gorski, 2013, “Beyond the Fact/Value Distinction,” Society, (Nov/Dec), 50:6: pp.
Christian Smith, 2010, What is a Person?, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 384-490.
7. Additional Resources: Learning CR further can benefit from the following resources:
Centers and Websites:
International Association for Critical Realism
International Center for Critical Realism
Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour
Routledge Studies in Critical Realism (series)
Mervyn Hartwig, 2007, Dictionary of Critical Realism, New York: Routledge.
Margaret Archer et al. (eds.), 1998, Critical Realism: Essential Readings, New York: Routledge.
Margaret Archer (ed.), 2012, The Morphogenetic Society, New York: Springer.
Roy Bhaskar et al. (eds.), 1998, Critical Realism, New York: Routledge.
Bob Carter, 2001, Realism and Racism, New York: Routledge.
Andrew Collier, 2007, In Defense of Objectivity and Other Essays, New York: Routledge.
Andrew Collier, 1999, Being and Worth, New York: Routledge.
Sean Creaven, 2001, Marxism and Realism, New York: Routledge.
Mats Ekström, 1992, “Causal Explanation of Social Action: The Contribution of Max Weber and of Critical Realism to a Generative View of Causal Explanation in Social Science,” ActaSociologica, 35: 107-122.
Dave Elder-Vass, 2011, Causal Power of Social Structures, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dave Elder-Vass, 2012, The Reality of Social Construction, New York: Routledge.
Steve Fleetwood, 2005, Critical Realism in Economics, New York: Routledge.
David Harvey, 2002, “Agency and Community: A Critical Realist Perspective,” Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, 32(2): 163-194.
Stephen Kemp and John Holmwood, 2003, “Realism, Regularity, and Social Explanation,” Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, 33(2): 165-187.
Tony Lawson, 2003, Reorienting Economics, New York: Routledge.
Andrew Sayer, 2000, Realism and Social Science, New York: Sage Publications.
And much more on specific topics besides….