‘Forthebeginner,ontology,epistemologyandthewholephilosophyofsocialsciencecanbeamaze:it'shardtoknowwhichwaytoturnbecauseit'simpossibletoseethemap.Tom

Fryerhasbeenthroughthatmazerecentlyenoughtorememberexactlyhowthatfeelsandhehassketchedoutthemaincontoursofthemaptogetyoustartedontheroute.

Accessibly.Brilliantly.CriBcalrealist-ly.Ithoroughlyrecommendreadingit.’ DrDaveElder-Vass,LoughboroughUniversity

‘Thisisareallyhelpfulguideforanyonewhogetsmixedupwithphilosophicaltermslikeontology,epistemology,posiBvism,construcBvismandcriBcalrealism...Beforereadingit,Icouldn'timaginethattheseconceptscouldbeexplainedinsuchaneasy(andfun!)way.’

YingYang,UniversityofManchester

‘ThisguideisperfectforPhDstudentswhowanttounderstandwhattheydoanddon’tunderstandandhowtheymightgoaboutunderstandingmorebasedonhowthey

understandwhattheyunderstand.Understand?’BobbieDu>on,UniversityofManchester

‘You’rewriBngaguideaboutwhatnow?’MyGran,Unaffiliated

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Ashortguidetoontologyandepistemology:whyeveryoneshouldbeacriFcalrealistTomFryer,2020

Sryer.com/ontology-guide

Sharing

Openaccess:somerightsreserved

Anyonecandownload,save,performordistributethisworkinanyformat,includingtranslaBon,withoutwriVenpermission.ThisissubjecttothetermsoftheCreaBveCommonsLicenseDeed:AVribuBon—NonCommercial—NoDerivaBves2.0UK:EnglandandWales.Pleaseasktheauthorforpermissiontousethisworkforpurposesotherthanthosecoveredbythelicense.

Coveranddesign:JoannaKozak

Thanks

I’dliketothankanumberofpeopleformakingthisguidepossible.Firstofall,I’mverygratefultotheBhaskarMemorialFundfortakingariskandfundingthisproject.Fortheinsights,suggesBonsandeditsIowemuchtoBobbie,PariseandDave.Moregenerally,thankstoeveryonewho’slistenedtomebangingonaboutcriBcalrealismandhelpedmethinkabouthowto(andhownotto)shareitsinsights.Also,thankstoJoannafortheamazingillustraBons—I’mge`ngcloseto83%convincedthatdesignmaVers…

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Howdy.

Letmestartoffbysayingcongratsonge`ngintoapostgradprogramme.It’snosimplethingtodoanddefinitelydeservesapatontheback.

Ihopeyou’reexcitedtogetcrackingonthings.IrememberfeelingthisweirdcombinaBonofanxiety,butbeingraringtogo,excited,aswellasabitoverwhelmed.It’sBringfeelingallthatatonce.

That’swhyIwrotethisguide.IhopeitmakesyourlifealiVleeasierandhelpsyouthinkaboutonereallyimportantpartofyourresearch.

I’dbewillingtobetaseriousamountofmoneythatatsomepointoverthenextcoupleofmonthsyou’regoingtohearsomeonemenBon‘ontology’,‘epistemology',‘researchparadigms’and‘philosophicalassumpBons’.Ifyou’reluckyyoumightevencomeacrosssomeonecha`ngabout‘normaBvity’.Mostunisrunsomekindoftrainingprogrammefornewpostgrads,soyou’llprobablycomeacrosstheseterms,aswellastheoccasionalreferenceto‘posiBvism’,‘construcBvism',‘interpreBvism’,‘criBcalrealism’,‘pragmaBsm’and‘subjecBvism’.

Thefirstpointtomakeisthatyouarenotstupid.

That’snotquiteright.I’venotgotthefoggiesthowsmartyouareandI’mnottryingtobesomekindofmoBvaBonalspeaker.Anyonewhoknowsmecanvouchforthat…

Letmeclarify.Ifyou’rebamboozledbyallthedifferenttermsthendon’ttakethisasevidencethatyou’restupid.There’sastupidnumberofterms,usedinastupidnumberofways,torefertoastupidnumberofdifferentthings.Itreallyisn’tyou.

FacedwiththissituaBon,it’ssupertempBngtojustgiveup.Youmightgoasfarasfiguringoutacoupleofsentencesthatyoucanwazzinyourthesislike:“IadoptapragmaBststancebecauseIbelieveyourmethodologyshouldrespondtotheresearchquesBonsbeingasked”.Ifyou’refeelingkeen,youmightevenreadCroVy’s(1998)TheFoundaFonsofSocialResearchandpickyourphilosophicalapproachfromhis‘oven-ready’versions.

Pleasedon’tdothis.

I’mnotnormallypronetomelodrama,butI’dgetdownonmykneesandbegyounottodothis.

Here’smyelevatorpitchforwhy.

Ifyoudon’tthinkaboutontologyandepistemologythenthere’sariskthatyou’llgolookingforshitthatdoesn’texist,oryou’llignoresuperobviousshitthat’srightinfrontofyou.There’salsotheriskthatyouendupusingshitmethods,toanswershitquesBons,whichisprobablyjustgoingtogiveyoushitanswers.

Whoknewelevatorpitchesneededmoreswearing?#ShitInTheElevator

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Seriouslythough,todogoodresearchyouneedtohaveadecentunderlyingphilosophy.

That’swhythisguidethisguideaimsto:A. Showyouwhyit’simportanttothinkaboutyourphilosophicalposiBon.B. Giveyouasimpleframeworktounderstandallthosecomplicatedterms.C. MakethecaseforwhyyoushouldbeacriBcalrealist.

Todothis,I’veorganisedtheguideintofoursecBons:1. What’sthepointofthinkingaboutontology?2. Howyoucanunderstandallthecomplextermsandconcepts?3. WhatisposiBvism,construcBvismandcriBcalrealism?4. And,whyshouldeveryonebeacriBcalrealist?

Happyreading,andIhopeithelps:)


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#ShitInTheElevator

SecBon1:What’sthepoint?Okay,what’sthepointofthinkingaboutontologyandepistemology?

Firstthingsfirst.Whatevenareontologyandepistemology?

Ontologyisaboutstuff.Itlooksatwhatstuffisintheworldandwhatthatstuffislike.ItincludesquesBonslike:what’sintheworldorwhat’sreal?

WecouldgetalltechnicalandbreakontologyintoitstwoGreekwordsmeaningbeingandstudy.Thatmakesontologythestudyofbeing,whichisjustafancywayofsayingthe‘studyofstuff’.

Theotherkeytermisepistemology.Again,it’skindausefultolookathowthewordisformed,thisBmeit’stwoGreekwordsmeaningknowledgeandstudy.So,epistemologyisthestudyofknowledge.

InsteadofquesBonsaboutwhattheworldislike—that’sontology—epistemologyismoreinterestedinhowwecanproduceknowledgeabouttheworld.Aretheregoodandbadwaysofdoingthis?Howreliableisourknowledge?

Now,it’spreVyeasytogetontologyandepistemologymixedup.Ijustsawatweetthatsaidsomethingalongthelinesof‘ifyouknowwhatontologyandepistemologyarewithoutgoogling,thenthere’sa100%chanceyou’readouche’.

Ouch.ThatsBngs.

Butitdoesn’thavetobethisway.Here’sasillywaytorememberthedifference:• Ontologysoundslike‘ontoelogy’,orthestudyofwhatyoujustdroppedonyourtoe.

Now,ifyoujustdroppedahammeronyourtoe,Iguaranteeyou’regoingtobethinkingaboutreality.You’regoingtobethinkingaboutrealhammersandrealpain,intherealworld.There’snowayyou’regoingtobeinthemind-frametoask:“HowdoIproduceknowledgeaboutthishammer?”You’llbepreVyfocusedonitsreality.That’sontology.

• Epistemologysoundsabitlike‘epicstemology’,orthestudyofepicstems.Imagineyourmate,whoisaplantscienBst,comesuptoyouandsays“heybuddy,lookattheepicstemonthisplant,howcool”.I’mguessingyourfirstreacBonwillbe:Isthatreallyanepicstem?HowdoesDaveknowthat’sanepicstem?WhydoesDavehavesomerightweirdopinions?YoucanseetheseareallquesBonsaboutknowledge,ieepistemology.

Ataddaq,Iknow.ButIhopeithelpsyouremember.

Nowweknowthebasics,letmehaveagoatconvincingyouthatit’sreallyimportanttothinkaboutwhichontologyandepistemologyyouadoptinyourresearch. 


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‘On toe logy’

“Ifyoudon’tthinkaboutontologyandepistemologythere’sapre>ygoodchanceyou’llendupwithanaffproject.”

Controversial,Iknow.

Okay,here’swhyontologyisimportant.Allresearchsetsouttofindthings.Somesetsouttofinduniversallawsofnature.Othersembarkonajourneytocollectstories.Andafewsmartypantssetouttofindcausalmechanismsthatactastendencies(I’llexplainthislater).

Now,havingabadtheoryofontologymeansthatyouriskse`ngoffintotheworldtofindstuffthatdoesn’texist.Yourresearchwouldbedoomedtofailfromthestart.Adecenttheoryofontologystopsusfromlookingforthewrongthings.

ThinkaboutthesestoriesfromAldi(mylocalsupermarket):

I’mhavingamid-lifecrisisandwanttobuyaFerrari.IdecidetogotoAlditobuyone.AsmuchasImightwanttobuyaFerrari,andasmuchasImightdeludemyselfthatAldiactuallysellsthem,thishasabsolutelynoimpactontherealityoftheworld.Aldijustdoesn’tsellFerraris.It’ssillytolookforFerrarisinAldi.

ResearchthatusesabadontologicalassumpBonisasdaqasthishypotheBcalfuturemid-lifecrisismelookingforaFerrariinAldi.Imightsetouttofindsomethingintheworld,butifI’mwrongaboutthenatureoftheworld,thenI’mnevergoingtofindit.It’sawildgoosechase.

Actually,it’smorelikeawildunicornchase,asgeesedoexist.

There’sanotherwaythatabadtheoryofontologycansetyouoffonthewrongpath.However,insteadoflookingforsomethingthatdoesn’texist,thisBmeourbadtheorymakesusignorebigchunksoftheworld.Again,let’sgotoAldi:

Ilovecarrots.Carrotsoup,carrotmash,roastedupwithabitofoliveoilandrosemary.Yummy,yummy,yummy,inmytummy,tummy,tummy.IbuyallmycarrotsfromAldi.Infactit’stheonlythingthatIbuyfromAldi.That’sperfectlyfine,ifabitweird.ButI’dbewrongtotellmyfriendthatAldionlysellscarrots.I’dbemissingoutonthebigpictureandalltheotherthingsthatAldisells.Theydon’tselleverything,butit’sdefinitelymorethanjustcarrots.

Thisdeludedcarrot-lovingfiendisabitlikeresearchthatonlysetsouttofindstories.There’snothingwrongwithcarrots.There’snothingwrongwithcollecBngstories.Itcanactuallybeasuperimportantkindofresearch,listeningtopeoplethatacademicresearchhastendedtoignoreinthepast.Thistypeofresearchonlybecomesaproblemwhenweassumethere’snothingelseintheworldotherthanstories.JustlikeAldisellsmorethanjustcarrots,theworldconsistsofmorethanjuststories.

So,researchneedsadecentontology,sothat1)youdon’tgolookingforsomethingthatdoesn’texistor2)soyoudon’tignorethefullrealityoftheworld.Ifyousetoffwithabadtheoryofontologyyoureallyareriskingthatyou’llendupwithanaffproject.

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Convinced?MaybealiVle?

Hopefullyyouagreethatit’satleastabitimportanttothinkaboutontology.ImighthavebeenaliVletooboldandcontroversialwithmyoriginalstatement—IreadsomewherethatyoutendtorememberthingsmorewhenyouhaveanemoBonalreacBon,soI’mgoingtoclaimthisassomepre-plannedteachingstrategy…Ifyou’resBllreadingthisthenIguessitworked.

InthenextsecBon,I’llexplainhowtounderstandallthecomplicatedtermsandconceptsyoumighthearbygivingyouasimpleframeworktonavigatethroughthismaze.

There’salsoaglossaryattheendwithsomeusefuldefiniBons,justincaseIslipintousingtoomuchjargon.I’lltrynottothough.

Keypoints• Ontologyor‘ontoelogy’isthestudyofbeingandreality,liketherealityof

droppingahammeronyourtoe.• Epistemologyor‘epicstemlogy’isthestudyofknowledge,orhowDaveknowsif

thatstemreallyisepicornot.• Youshouldthinkaboutyourontologyandepistemologybeforeyourresearch

otherwiseyourisksearchingforstuffthatdoesn’texistormissingoutonimportantpartsoftheworld.

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Epic stem, Dave

SecBon2:StuffiswaytoocomplicatedYoumightbemindingyourownbusiness,eaBngasandwich,dozingoffinalecture,inanintensemeeBngwithyoursupervisorormaybeevendownthepubifyou’vegotcoolmates,butatsomepointyou’llgetasked:

‘Whatphilosophicalparadigmareyougoingtouse?’

‘What’syourontologicalandepistemologicalposiFon?’

PanicstaBons.

Whatthehellareyougoingtosay?

You’veprobablyheardaridiculousnumberoftermsusedtodescribedifferentphilosophicalposiBons.Someoftheseprobablyringabell:subjecBvism,construcBvism,interpreBvism,phenomenology,hermeneuBcs,posiBvism,objecBvism,post-posiBvism,post-modernism,criBcalrealism,criBcaltheory,post-colonialism,pragmaBsm,structuralism…Thelistcouldgoonandon.Butwhichoneareyougoingtopick?

Letmeletyouintoasecret.ThepersonaskingyouthesequesBonsprobablyalsohasn’tgotthefoggiestwhataphilosophicalparadigmis.Likeyou,theykeepge`ngallthetermsmixedup.Likeyou,theythinkthatontologyandepistemologysoundlikeahospitaldepartmentspecialisedonbonesandstemcells.Likeyou,they’veprobablybeenputofffromlookingintophilosophybecausetoomuchofitseemsdenseforthesakeofbeingdense,complexforthesakeofbeingcomplex,discombobulatedforthesakeofbeingdiscombobulated.

Thesecondthingtonoteisthatmostofthesecomplicatedtermsarebollocks.

Idon’tmeanthatthey’reuseless.TheyoqenrefertoaresearchtradiBon,sointhatsensethey’reuseful.ButthetermsreallyarepreVyuselessforunderstandingandcategorisingdifferentphilosophicalposiBons.

It’saclassiccaseoftoomanycookshavespoiledthebroth.There’ssomanypeopledoingallkindsofresearchandeveryonewantstogivetheirownthinganewname.Thismeanswe’veendedupwithtonnesofdifferentterms,usedindifferentwaysbydifferentpeople,soitbecomesalmostimpossibletoworkoutwhatanythingmeans.Argh!Stuffiswaytoocomplicated!

Iproposewestartagain.

Weneedtochuckthebabyoutwiththebathwater.Actually,weneedtoripoutthebathandinstallashower—whohasBmeforabathnowadays?

WeneedtogobacktothebasicsofwhatmakesaphilosophicalposiBonandbuildupourconceptsfromthere.Let’sdothis.

Okay,foranyphilosophicalposiBon,weonlyneedtothinkabouttwothings:• Ontology• Epistemology

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Luckilywealreadyknowwhattheseare.Ontologyisaboutstuff(droppingahammeronyourtoe)andepistemologyisaboutknowledge(howdoyouknowthat’sanepicstem,Dave?).

Whenitcomestoontology,there’stwobasicposiBons:realismandirrealism.

It’spreVymuchwhatitsaysontheBn,realiststhinkthatthereisarealuniverseoutthere.There’sarealcatonmylap.Mydecisionnottowearadressisinfluencedbyrealgenderstructures.TheotherposiBonisirrealism,whichdeniesthatthereisarealuniverseoutthere.Now,mostirrealistsaren’tirrealistsabouteverything.Theymightthinkthatthereisarealcatonmyknee,butthatthere’snorealityinthesocialworld.Moreonthislater.

Inepistemologythere’salsotwoposiBons.I’mgoingtousethetermsobjecFvistandsubjecFvist,althoughtherearedefinitelysomeposiBonsthatfallinthemiddle.AnobjecBvistposiBonassumesthattherearenolargebarrierstoproducingknowledgeabouttheworld—wecanjustsitdown,observetheworldandproducetruthfulknowledge.AsubjecBvistposiBonismorescepBcal.Theymightarguethatourknowledgecouldbewrong,ieourknowledgeisfallible.TheyalsomightquesBonifwereallycanjustsitdownandobservetheworldinsomeneutralandobjecBveway.Instead,subjecBvistsarguethatallourobservaBonsaretheory-dependent.

LetmeexplainwhatthetheorydependencyofobservaBonmeansthroughanexample.It’salwayseasiertouseareal-worldexampletochataboutthiskindofstuff.

Okayimaginethatyou’rearesearcherlookingathowrefugeesaretreatedintheUK.AnobjecFvistassumeswecanjustgooutintotheworld,observehowrefugeesaretreated,thenwriteupourfindings.That’sallthereistoit.However,asubjecFvistwouldsaythat’swaytoosimple.Whoweconsidertobea‘refugee’istheory-dependent,notneutralandobjecFve.SometheoriesmightmakeabigdisFncFonbetween‘economicmigrants’and‘refugees’—theformerareapparentlymigraFngforeconomicbenefits,whereastherefugeeswereforcedtofleeforpoliFcalreasons.WhereasothertheoriesmightquesFonthissimplebinaryandarguearefugeeisanyonewhohasfledtheirhomecountry,forwhateverreason.Thela>erapproachthereforedefines‘refugee’muchmorebroadly.

ThisdefiniFoncouldhavesuperimportantconsequencesfortheresearch.ImagineiftheUKtreatsthosefleeingforpoliFcalreasonsreasonablywell,butispre>yinhumanetothosefleeingduetoeconomicfactors.Ifweonlylookattheformer,thiswouldmisstheinhumanetreatmentofthela>er.Inthisway,there’snoneutralposiFonfromwhichtoproduceknowledge.

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Phew.Ithinkweallneedabreakaqerthat.

Didyouknowthatthefastestpenguincanswimatspeedsofupto22milesperhour?Thatisonespeedypenguin.

Okay,breakover.Let’sgetbacktoit.

Whenweputallthistogether,anyphilosophicalposiBonneedstopickanontologyandanepistemology.Youneedtopickrealismorirrealism,objecFvismorsubjecFvism.Then,bingo,youhaveaphilosophicalposiBon.ItmightnotbeagoodphilosophicalposiBon,butitisaphilosophicalposiBon.

WecanusethisframeworktounderstandalloftheotherphilosophicalposiBons.Allweneedtoworkoutis:

• Isitrealistorirrealist?• IsitobjecFvistorsubjecFvist?

Obviously,thismeansthere’sfourpossiblecombinaBons:

1. Realist|ObjecBvist2. Realist|SubjecBvist3. Irrealist|ObjecBvist4. Irrealist|SubjecBvist

I’mgoingtocallthese:1. PosiBvism(Realist|ObjecBvist)2. CriBcalRealism(Realist|SubjecBvist)3. VeryVeryConfused(Irrealist|ObjecBvist)4. ConstrucBvism(Irrealist|SubjecBvist)

WecanbasicallyignoreNumber3.Itmakesnosensetobeirrealist,andthinkwecanproduceobjecBveknowledge.HowcouldweproduceobjecBveknowledgeaboutsomethingthatdoesn’texist?Let’sgetridofthatcombinaBon.

Thismeansallthosecomplicatedtermsthatyou’veheardcanbasicallybeboileddownto:posiFvism,construcFvism,andcriFcalrealism.

That’sit.Justthosethreeterms.

InthenextsecBon,I’mgoingtoexplaineachoftheseposiBons,beforearguinginSecBon4thateveryoneshouldbeacriBcalrealist.

Keypoints• AphilosophicalposiBonismadeofontology(realismorirrealism)and

epistemology(objecBvismorsubjecBvism).• ThisresultsinthreedifferentphilosophicalposiBons:

o PosiBvism–realismandobjecBvismo CriBcalrealism–realismandsubjecBvismo ConstrucBvism–irrealismandsubjecBvism.

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A speedy penguin

SecBon3:WhatisposiBvism,construcBvismandcriBcalrealism?We’veseenhowyouonlyreallyneedthreebasicphilosophicalposiBonstobroadlyunderstandthefieldofontologyandepistemology.InthissecBon,I’lltellyouwhateachoftheseare,andhowtheytendtoinfluencesocialscienceresearch.

PosiBvismThefirstphilosophicalposiBonisposiBvism,whichtakesarealist|objecBviststance.Itassumes:

• Theworldconsistsofrealstuff,specificallyuniversallaws.• WeproduceknowledgeinobjecBveways.

Okay,let’sstartwiththeontologicalassumpBonthattheworldhasrealuniversallaws.Whatdoesthismean?

Auniversallawisbasicallyastatementabouthowtwoeventsarerelatedtoeachother.

I’msureyou’veseenloadsofexamplesofthisinsocialscience.Here’ssomemade-upones:• Genderpredicts12.489%ofthevariaBoninmathemaBcsscoresatage16inEngland

(p

iscausal—allitshowsisacorrelaBon.Andasthesayinggoes,correlaBondoesn’timplycausaBon.

So,researchthatseeksouttheseuniversallawsorcorrelaBonsofeventsisn’tgoodenough.Instead,researchshouldtellusaboutcausesandhowtheyleadtotheeventsthatweobserve.

ThesecondproblemwithposiBvismcomesfromitsobjecBvistepistemology.Itassumesthatwecansimplyobservetheworldandproduceknowledgeaboutuniversallaws.ThisfailstorecognisehowourobservaBonsaretheory-dependent.Thinkbacktotherefugeeandeconomicmigrantexample.Byignoringthewaysthatresearchistheory-dependent—egdrawingonatheorytoconceptualisewhatitmeanstobea‘refugee’—posiBvisBcmethodsmisrepresentknowledgeproducBon.Wedon’tsimplyobservetheworldfromsomeobjecBvestanceandproduceknowledge.OneconsequenceofthismistakeisthatposiBvismdoesn’trecognisetheneedforreflecBonintheresearchprocess.Weneedtothinkaboutthetheoriesweareusing,wheretheycamefrom,whotheybenefit,andwhotheyexclude.Thisisourresponsibilityassocialscienceresearchers.

ConstrucBvismThesecondphilosophicalposiBonisconstrucBvism,whichtakesanirrealist|subjecBviststance.Itis:

• Largelyirrealist,ignoring(lessextremeconstrucBvism)ordenying(extremeconstrucBvism)therealityofbigchunksoftheworld.

• SubjecBvist,seeingknowledgeproducBonasfallibleandtheory-dependent.ExtremeconstrucBvismmightgoevenfurtherandarguethatknowledgeistheory-determined.

Inonesense,construcBvismtakesabigstepforwardfromposiBvism.Itfullyacknowledgesthatitmakesnosensetogolookingforuniversallaws.

However,theproblemwithconstrucBvismisthatitgoestoofarinitscriBque.ItbecomestoopessimisBcaboutourabilitytoproduceknowledgeabouttheworld.

Inthesocialsciences,construcBvismtendstoinfluencestudiesbyencouragingthemtofocusondiscourse,meaningortheexperiencesofpeople.ThisisnotafalseontologyinthesamesenseasposiBvism—construcBvismdoesn’tgosearchingforthingsthatdon’texist.TheproblemisthatconstrucBvismtakestoonarrowofaperspecBveontheworld.

It’slessawildunicornchase,andmoreabeliefthatyou’reonlytakingthedog-leadforawalk,ratherthanthedog.It’slikeimplyingthatAldionlysellscarrots.

I’msureyou’vecomeacrossstudiesthatfocusontheexperiencesofpeople.Oqenthesestudiestalkabout‘givingvoice’toanunder-representedgroup.Youseethisinanthropologyquitealot,butitiscommoninotherdisciplinesaswell.

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Searching for universal laws

Now,theideathatweshouldlistentothevoicesofmarginalisedgroupsisaveryimportantone,it’sabigstepforwardfrommoreposiBvisBcstudiesthatwouldthinkpeople’sopinionsareuseless.Thinkaboutastudyofpoverty,it’sessenBaltounderstandtheworldviewofpeopleinyourresearchproject,ratherthandesigninganintervenBonwithoutunderstandingandengagingwiththissocialcontext.

However,theendpointofresearchisn’tthecollecBonofstoriesandworldviews.Whileitisimportanttoaskpeople’sopinionsaboutthings,researchshouldn’tendthere.Astudyofpovertyisn’tcompletewhenweunderstandtheexperienceofsomeoneinpoverty.WeneedtofindthecausesofwhypeopleareinthisposiBonandhowthesebarrierscouldbetransformed,buildingonthelivedexperiencesofpeople.

PhilosophicalconstrucBvismcanhinderthelaVerstepsintheresearchprocess—iethemovementfromstoriestocauses.Isay‘philosophicalconstrucBvism’becauseIreckonifyouaskedmostsocialscienceresearcherswhoidenBfyas‘construcBvists’abouttheirwork,they’dsaythattheydobelieveincausesandtheyhopetheirresearchwillhelptoovercomesomeofthebarrierspeopleface.Inthisway,they’renotafullphilosophicalconstrucBvist. 1Tome,althoughfewsocialscienceresearchersareactuallyphilosophicalconstrucBvists,thisposiBoncaninfluencesocialscienceresearchbyencouragingustostoptooearlyintheresearchprocess.We’vegottogobeyonddiscourseandexperiencestoalsolookatcauses.

Imagineastudythatanalysesthewaysrefugeesarerepresentedindiscourse—whetherlinkingrefugeestodiseasesorthewaysinwhichabinaryiscreatedbetweenrefugeesandeconomicmigrants—thisisgoodandimportantresearch.Theproblemiswhentheanalysisstopshere.WesBllneedtoaskquesBonslike:

• Whatimpactdoesthisdiscoursehaveintheworld?• Inwhatwaysdorefugeessufferbecauseofthisdiscourse?• Towhatextentdoimportantpeople(poliBcians,visaofficials,borderpolice)adopt

andinternalisethisdiscourseandhowdoesthisinfluencetheiracBons?

Thefactthatthereisadiscoursedoesabsolutelynothingtoshowtheimpactofdiscourseintheworld.Itisuptoresearchersstudytheimpactandconsequencesofthisdiscourse.PhilosophicalconstrucBvismdeniesthatthisispossibleorevendesirable,whichwronglydiscouragesresearchersfromtakingthisnextvitalstep.

YoumightbewonderingitspossibletojusBfytheideathatconstrucBvismtakestoonarrowanontologybyonlyfocussingondiscourseandlanguage.Todothis,Ineedtoshowyouthewaythatsocialstructuresandcausesarereal,andcanbestudiedbysocialscience.

WhenIgotowatchBoltonWanderersversusManchesterUnited,asaBoltonfanItendtoavoidwearingaredt-shirtasthiscolourisassociatedwithManchesterUnited.WhenI’mdecidingwhattowearonaparFcularSaturdaymorning,IcannotescapetheassociaFonofredandManchesterUnited.Thissocialstructurepre-existsmyacFvityatagivenpointinFmeandhasacausalimpactonmybehaviour,ieItendnottowearred.

RoyBhaskar,thefounderofcriBcalrealism,saysthatconstrucBviststendtocommit‘anepistemicfallacy’,1whereontologicalclaimsaboutbeingarereducedtoepistemologicalclaimsaboutknowledge(Bhaskar1975).AconstrucBvistmayexplicitlyorimplicitlydenythattheworldisreal(anontologicalclaim),becausetheyarescepBcalofourabilitytoproduceknowledgeabouttheworld(anepistemologicalclaim).Butthismistakestherealityoftheworld,withourknowledgeofit.

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Iknowsocialstructuresarerealbecauseofthecausalimpacttheyhaveonmybehaviour.JustlikeIcanknowamagneBcfieldisrealbythecausalimpactithasonironfilings,thesameappliestosocialstructures.TheassociaBonofredandManchesterUnitedisn’tsomethingthatonlyexistsinmyhead—somefootballstadiumswon’tevenletyouinthegroundifyouwearthecolourassociatedwiththeotherteam.Therereallyisasocialstructurethatexists—socialscienceisthestudyoftheir(trans)formaBonandimpact.

IalsomenBonedthatsomeextremeformsofconstrucBvismtakeaproblemaBcepistemologicalstance.TheyarguethatknowledgeproducBonistheory-determined,notmerelytheory-dependent.Thisdeniesthattheworldcaninfluenceourtheories,andendsupwithcompleterelaBvism—there’snowayofsayingonetheoryisbeVerthananother.

Imagineyougotothepubandtheblokeatthebarstarttellingyouabouthowbabiesarebroughtbyaflyingstorkaqerbeingmadeinasecretlake.ThatisonetheoryyoucouldholdabouthumanreproducBon.But,justbecausethisfellabelievesthistheory,thisdoesn’tmaketheworldthatway—histheorydoesnotdeterminewhetherbabiesreallyareformedinasecretlake.OurobservaBonsmightbedependentonourtheories,butourtheoriesdefinitelydon’tcompletelydeterminewhatrealityislike.

CriBcalRealismSo,ifposiBvismgoeschasingunicorns,andconstrucBvismisadamantitonlytakesthedog-leadforawalk,whatdoescriBcalrealismbringtothetable?

CriBcalrealismbuildsonbothofitsrivals.Itacknowledgesthattheworldisreal,andthatknowledgeproducBonisfallibleandtheory-dependentbutnottheory-determined.It’salsohappytosaythatmeaninganddiscourseareimportant,butthey’renottheonlythingsthatexist.

I’mactuallygoingtotellyoumoreaboutthisinthenextsecBon,andI’lltrytomakethecaseforwhyyoushouldbeacriBcalrealist.

But,letmeendwithaquickrantabout‘pragmaBsm’.

There’saschoolofsocialtheoryintheUScalled‘pragmaBsm’.Thisisn’twhatI’mtalkingabout.I’mtalkingabout‘pragmaBsm’asthebeliefthatphilosophicalquesBonsofontologyandepistemologydon’tmaVerforresearchers.

You’lloqenhearpragmaBstssaythingslike“It’sokaytoadoptwhicheverphilosophicalposiBonyouwant.Allyouneedtodoistomakesureit’sconsistent”.IfIwasabe`ngman,I’dguessthatmostmethodstraininginuniversiBestendtoadoptthispragmaBstposiBon.Insomewaysthismakessense,ifyouhaveaclassfullofresearchersfromverydifferentdisciplines.Inotherways,thisisuVerrubbish.

Ihopeyoucanseewhy.Withoutadecenttheoryofontologyandepistemologyyoucouldgolookingforstuffthatdoesn’texist,oryoucouldendupaccidentallyignoringabigchunkoftheworld.Beingconsistentdoesn’tmaketheseproblemsgoaway.

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WhatweneedisthebestphilosophicalposiBon,notjustonethatweapplyconsistently.IthinkthisiscriBcalrealism.

Keypoints• PosiBvismgoeslookingforuniversallawsthatdon’texist.Itgivesaveryshallow

perspecBveoncausaBon.• ConstrucBvismencouragesresearcherstoonlyconsidermeaninganddiscourse.

Wemustgofurthertolookatcauses,socialstructuresandtheimpactofdiscourse.• PragmaBsm(nottheUSschool)isuVerrubbish.

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Taking a dog-lead for a walk

SecBon4:WhyeveryoneshouldbeacriBcalrealistOkay,sowhatisthiscriBcalrealistphilosophicalposiBonthatI’vebeenbangingonabout?Andwhyisitthebesttheoryofontologyandepistemology?

Let’sstartwiththesecondquesBon.

CriBcalrealismisthebesttheoryofontologyandepistemologybecauseitreachesitsconclusionsthroughareallypowerfulmethodcalledretroducBvereasoning.

Don’tworry,retroducBvereasoningisn’tascomplicatedasitsounds.It’sbasicallyakindoflogicthatlooksforthebestexplanaBon.Sayyoujustputsomechocolateonthetablenexttoyourbaby,andthenaminutelaterthechocolatehasgoneandLiVleBillyhaschocolatesmearedroundhisface.What’sthebestexplanaBonforthis?We’dbejusBfiedinconcludingthat‘LiVleBillyatethechocolate’.

RoyBhaskar,thefounderofcriBcalrealism,usedexactlythesamekindofreasoningtoworkoutwhattheontologyoftheworldmustbelike.Ifyouwantacoupleofreferences,hisfirsttwobooksareRealistTheoryofScience(1975)andPossibilityofNaturalism(1979).

Heasked:whatmusttheontologyoftheworldbelikeinorderforscienFficexperimenttobepossible?

Okay,soBhaskarstartswiththeassumpBonthatscienBficexperimentcanproduceknowledge.He’sthinkingparBcularlyofexperimentsinthenaturalsciencesatthispoint.Nowthisreallyisn’ttoocontroversial.Ifyoudon’ttendtoeatarsenicforteaandgenerallytrytoavoidsBckingyourfingersinplugsocketsthenyou’reprobablyokaywiththeideathatscienBficexperimentcanproduceknowledge.

Justlikeweasked,‘WhatisthebestexplanaBonforhowthechocolatedisappeared?’we’renowasking,‘WhatisthebestexplanaBonforhowscienBficexperimentcanproduceknowledge?’.Or,‘IfscienBficexperimentispossible,whatmusttheontologyoftheworldbelike?’.

IfanyonewantstoseethiswriVeninsomeformallogic,hereyougo:

I’llexplainwhattheontologicalconclusionsX,YandZareinaminute.

ThereasonwhycriBcalrealismisthebesttheoryofontologyandepistemologyisbecauseofthestrengthofthisretroducBveargument.Thereareonlyafewwaysitcouldbefaulty.We’vealreadyseenthatit’sabitdaqtoarguethattheminorpremiseiswrong,weallliveourlivesinwaysthatacknowledgethatscienBficexperimentispossibleanddoesproduceknowledge.

MajorPremise OnlyifQ,thenP.

OnlyiftheworldhasontologicalproperBesX,YandZ,thenscienBficexperimentispossible

MinorPremise P ScienBficexperimentispossible.

Conclusion Therefore,Q Therefore,theworldhasproperBesX,YandZ.

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TheothermainwaythatcriBcalrealistconclusionscouldbewrongisifthere’ssomedodgyreasoninginthemajorpremise.It’sdefinitelypossiblethatthere’ssomeproblemshere,butthiswouldn’tmakecriBcalrealismuseless.TocorrectamistakeinthemajorpremisewouldonlymakecriBcalrealismabeVeraccountoftheworld!CriBcalrealism’sabitlikethehulkge`ngangrier,themoreyoucorrectoraddtothemajorpremisethestrongeritgets…

Thatdefinitelydoesn’tworkperfectlyasananalogy,butyougettheidea.

NeitherposiBvismorconstrucBvismhaveanunderlyingmethodlikethisretroducBvereasoning.ThisispartofthereasonwhyposiBvismendsuptryingtofinduniversallaws,whichdon’texist.Similarly,construcBvismhassomerealinsightsonthewaysinwhichknowledgeproducBonissubjecBve,butrunsintoproblemswhenthiscriBqueistakentoofar—whetherindenyingtherealityofbigchunksoftheworld,orarguingthatknowledgeistheory-determined.AllthismeansthesephilosophicalposiBonsaren’tabletogiveasgoodanaccountofontologyandepistemologyascriBcalrealism.

Iwantedtosharethis‘method’ofcriBcalrealismtogivesomesenseofwhereitsconclusionscomefrom.However,it’sbeyondthescopeofthisguidetoshowyouhowcriBcalrealismusesthismethodtoreachitsconclusions.IthoughtitwouldbemoreusefultofocusontwoofthemainconclusionsofcriBcalrealism,whichIthinkareparBcularlyimportantforsocialscienceresearchers:

1. Researchshouldlookforcausaltendencies.2. Socialscienceresearchmustconsiderbothagencyandstructure.

Again,there’sloadsmoretocriBcalrealismthanthesetwoconclusions,butthisguideisn’taimingtogiveacompleteintroducBon.There’salreadygreatexampleslike:Collier(1994)CriFcalRealism:AnIntroducFontoRoyBhaskar'sPhilosophyorGorski(2013)WhatisCriFcalRealism?AndWhyShouldYouCare?Docheckthemout.

ResearchshouldlookforcausaltendenciesWe’vealreadyseenthatposiBvismlooksforuniversallaws,whichdon’texist.And,construcBvismlooksforstoriesandtendstodenythatanythingelseexists.

CriBcalrealismtakesadifferentapproach.Itgoeslookingforcausalmechanismsthatactastendencies.

Thatmightsoundlikeajumbleofwords,soletmetrytoexplain.Todothis,IneedtointroducesomecriBcalrealisttheorythatarguestheworldhasthreedomains:

• DomainoftheEmpirical–containingexperiences,ietheeventsweexperience.• DomainoftheActual–containingevents.Notalleventsareexperienced,egatree

fallsevenifno-oneisaroundtoseeit.• DomainoftheReal–containingcausalmechanisms.Mechanismsarethestructures

thatcauseevents,egthegravitythatcausedtheappletofallonNewton’shead.

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23

Little Billy and his chocolate

ThisideathattheworldhasthreedomainsgivesusadifferentwayofunderstandingthemistakesofposiBvismandconstrucBvism.PosiBvismlooksforcausesinthedomainoftheactual,insteadofthedomainofthereal.ConstrucBvismrecognisescausesaren’tinthedomainoftheactual,butdeniesthatthedomainoftherealexists.CriBcalrealismistheonlyposiBontorecognisethatresearchshouldlookforcausesinthedomainofthereal.

Let’sjumpbacktotheexampleofgenderandmathstestscorestoseethisinmoredetail.Okayso,thescorethatstudentsgetinamathemaBcsexamisanevent.CriBcalrealismasks‘howcanwebestexplainthisevent?’or‘whatarethecausalmechanismsthatcausedthisevent?’.Thispushesustoaskwhethergenderstructurescauseorinfluencemathsscores.And,ifgenderstructuresdotendtoinfluencescores,howdotheydothis?Dotheyworkthroughinfluencingsomeone’sconfidencesotheygiveuponproblemsquickly,throughalackofaVenBonfromteachersduetogenderedexpectaBons,throughinfluencinglearneridenBBesofstudents,oralloftheabove.Hopefullyyoucanseethisisn’tgoingtobeeasy.Butresearchisn’teasystuff!Incontrast,posiBvismmakesafailedaVempttofindauniversallawbetweenevents,asking‘what’stheuniversallawconnecBnggenderandmathsscores?’.Similarly,construcBvismignorescausesandiscontenttodescribepeople’sexperiencesofmathsandgonofurtherintheresearchprocess.

Thisexamplealsoshowsthatcausalmechanismsactastendencies.Becausethere’snouniversalimpactofgenderonmathsscore,allwecouldconcludeisthatthere’satendency.Forexample,ifastudyconcludedthatgirlstendtoperformlesswellinmaths,thisdoesn’tallowustoperfectlypredictmathsscoresinthefuture.There’sonlyatendency.

CriBcalrealismshowsthatourresearchmust,atleastinpart,lookatcausalmechanismsandhowtheyactastendenciestoinfluencetheworldweobserve.

SocialscienceresearchshouldconsiderbothagencyandstructureCriBcalrealismalsousesretroducBveargumentstoshowthatbothagencyandsocialstructuresarereal.TheyarebothontologicalfeaturesoftheworldandtheyexisttogetherinarelaBon.ThisisthesecondbigconclusionofcriBcalrealismI’lltalkabout.

Ifyouwanttoadoptasocialtheorythatdoesn’tallowforagency—egsomeinterpretaBonsofBourdieu’stheoryofhabituscanexcludeallagency—thencriBcalrealismshowsthisisamistake.Ifyou’reresearchinganythinginthesocialworld,wehavetothinkaboutagency.

AtthesameBme,criBcalrealismshowsthatsocialstructuresarereal.They’rerealinthesensethatsocialstructuresinfluenceindividualagents,whethertheirbehaviour,idenBBes,knowledgeoracBons.Theworlddoesn’tjustconsistofindividualswhowanderaroundacBngfreely.Instead,theworldhasindividuals,andtheworldhassocialstructuresthatemergefromtheseindividualsastheyacttogether.Again,criBcalrealismshowsit’snotcooltoonlyconsiderindividualsinoursocialtheories—saysomeversionsofraBonalchoicetheoryineconomicsthatonlylookatindividualsmaximisinganoutcome.Thisisaflawedmodeloftheworld,asitignorestheimpactofsocialstructuresonindividuals—wearen’tfreeindividualsmakingcompletelyindividualdecisions.

CriBcalrealismdoesmorethanjustshowusthatoursocialtheorymustaccountforbothagencyandsocialstructures.Wemustlookatthetwoofthemtogether.

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SocialstructuresinfluencetheacBonsofindividuals.IndividualscanthenreproduceortransformthesesocialstructuresthroughtheiracBons.ThesesocialstructurestheninfluencethefutureacBonsofindividuals…andsoonandsoonandsoon.

Thinkbacktotheexampleoft-shirtsandfootballgames,socialstructuresandindividualshavetobeconsideredtogether,astheyinfluenceeachother:

WhenIgotowatchBoltonWanderersversusManchesterUnited,asaBoltonfanItendtoavoidwearingaredt-shirtasthiscolourisassociatedwithManchesterUnited.Mydecisionnottoweararedshirtisinfluencedbythispre-exisFngnorm.ThroughmyagencyIhavesomechoiceoverwhetherIa>empttotransform(weararedshirtasaBoltonfan)orreproduce(sFcktoblueorwhitet-shirts)thisstructurethroughmyacFon.Inturn,myacFoncouldinfluenceorstrengthenthenormthatredisassociaFonwithManchesterUnited.

Inthisway,socialstructuresandindividualagencyexisttogether.Wemustconsiderthemtogetherinourresearch.Ifwedon’tdothiswe’remakinganontologicalmistake.

Wellfolks,we’vereachedtheendoftheroad.

IhopethisguidehashelpedintroduceyoutothisareaandgivesyouawaytonavigateyourwaythroughquesBonsfrompeopleaboutyourontologyandepistemology.Also,foranykeenbeansIhopethisisthestartofyouge`ngtoknowcriBcalrealism.

Letmeleaveyouwiththis.Whenyouturntoyourresearch,justaskyourself:1. Whichphilosophyunderliesmyresearch?2. Doesmyresearchlookforcausalmechanismsthatactastendencies?3. HaveIconsideredbothstructureandagency?

IfyouaskthesethreequesBons,you’rewellonthewaytoagreatproject.Bestofluckwithit!

Keypoints• CriBcalrealismisthebesttheoryofontologyandepistemology,usingapowerful

kindofretroducBveargumenttoreachitsconclusions.• Conclusion1:weshouldseekcausalmechanismsthatactastendencies,rather

thanuniversallawsoronlystories.• Conclusion2:agencyandsocialstructuresareontologicalfeaturesoftheworld,

andtheyexistrelaBonally.Wemustusesocialtheoriesthatacceptthisontology.

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26

The Hulk

Glossary

Term Defini6on

Ontology Thestudyofstuff,orthestudyofbeing.

Epistemology Thestudyofknowledge.

PhilosophicalposiBon EveryphilosophicalposiBonhasanontology(realistorirrealist)andanepistemology(objecBvistorsubjecBvist)

Realism AnontologicalposiBonthatsaysthereisaworldthatis(atleastinsomeway)independentoftheresearcher.

Irrealism AnontologicalposiBonthatsaysthereisnotaworldthatis(inanysense)independentoftheresearcher.

ObjecBvism AnepistemologicalposiBonthatsayswecansimplyobservetheworldandproduceknowledge.

SubjecBvism AnepistemologicalposiBonthatsayswecannotsimplyobservetheworldandproduceknowledge.Instead,knowledgeproducBonistheory-dependentortheory-determined.

Theory-dependentknowledgeproducBon

AviewthatknowledgeproducBonisinfluencedbythetheoriesthataresearcheradopts.

Theory-determinedknowledgeproducBon

AviewthatknowledgeproducBoniscompletelydeterminedbythetheoriesthataresearcheradopts.Thisresultsintheviewthatallknowledgeisequallyvalid.

PosiBvism AphilosophicalposiBonthatisrealist|objecBvist.

ConstrucBvism AphilosophicalposiBonthatisirrealist|subjecBvist.

CriBcalrealism AphilosophicalposiBonthatisrealist|subjecBvist.

Causalmechanism Thecauseofanevent.Theseexistinthedomainofthereal.

Tendency Causalmechanismsactastendenciesnotuniversallaws,eggendertendstoinfluencemathsscores.

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