Naturalizing Critical Realist Social Ontology

by Kaidesoja; Tuukka

• ISBN13: 9780415670289
• ISBN10: 0415670284
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-06-21
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This important new book will argue that critical realist social ontology should be naturalized, since this is the most fruitful way to develop critical realism further in the social sciences. This therefore means that more attention should be paid to the various non-positivist methods and research practices in the social sciences and new approaches and results achieved in recent cognitive and neurosciences . Furthermore, critical realists should more actively engage in discussions with naturalist philosophies of science and different methodologies of social research, since this would enable critical realist to developed and clarify their views. Kaidesoja argues that, if these new approaches are not adopted, critical realism is in danger of becoming largely irrelevant to empirical social research insofar as it focuses on highly abstract philosophical problems and debates.