A Realist Theory of Science (Radical Thinkers Series 3) [Paperback]

If you REALLY want to understand Critical Realism, you have to read this book. Now be warned that it is a difficult read for those without a philosophical background. You will have to reread sections of it several times and it will take you a while to get it. Especially because it is a paradigm shift from what you are thinking now.

If you want to start with something less challenging, you might start with Collier's introduction to Bhaskar's thought.

In western thought philosophy and science have often had an unhappy relationship; either as (1) competing world perspectives, or as (2) describing different aspects of the world. Bhaskar in this book rejects both these views. Bhaskar maintains (notwithstanding the fact that practitioners of philosophy and science seem too often to ignore the crucial necessity of the relationship between science and philosophy) science and philosophy are necessarily interdependent in their practice and development. Bhaskar argues that philosophy is indispensable for scientific development, and philosophical development is symbiosis with science.

Bhaskar argues that science must necessarily presuppose a philosophical conception of reality. Thus, the question is not whether a scientist should or should not first think philosophy, but whether the philosophy being secreted is done so tacitly or self-consciously, or whether the philosophy behind science is poor or strong.

Bhaskar defends the idea of "depth realism." Namely, for science to be possible, reality must have layers, otherwise all science would be superfluous if the outward appearance and the essence of things directly coincided. This means there is "vertical dimension" to being (reality). Science is especially concerned with discovery and understanding the vertical dimension of reality and being (at the same time, actual scientific activity is primarily conducted in the "horizontal dimension" of being (reality), i.e. in and out of open systems of reality and closed system of scientific laboratory environments).

What Bhaskar ultimately accomplishes in "The Realist Theory of Science" is a unique and highly innovative conception of (natural) "powers" of things, a new and unique conception of "causality" and a highly inventive defense and development of a theory of "emergence" to philosophically explain _and_ philosophically defend science.

Bhaskar develops a new definition of "natural law." Whereas the empiricist and positivist argue that constant conjunction of events, i.e. regular and predictable patterns of events as for example produced in a scientific laboratory condition, are _both_ necessary and sufficient for identifying a natural law; while the Kantian idealists (dominate today in science) argue constant conjunction of events are necessary, but insufficient for identifying a natural law; the depth realism argued for by Bhaskar declares constant conjunctions of events are neither sufficient or even necessary for identifying natural laws. Instead philosophical argumentation, reasoning and rationality can help identify a natural law.

In this way, Bhaskar argues that it is not just the activity of science that establishes the identification of natural laws and knowledge of the universe, but the cooperation between philosophy and science together that produces understanding and knowledge about the universe.

Bhaskar's "depth realism" establishes two key philosophical realist principles, first, reality has a particular structure (i.e. depth) and second, much of reality is independent of human activity (i.e. realism) together this is a call for "ontological realism." Nonetheless, how humans actually gain and obtain knowledge of the world and universe is relative, and dependent on being (reality) itself. In this sense, Bhaskar defends the idea of "epistemological relativity." Because the activity of science/philosophy will necessarily produce competing theories about reality, while at the same time reality is necessarily independent of these theories, there is the necessity of, and possibility for, judging between competing theories philosophically or rationally, which is the basis of what Bhaskar calls "judgmental rationality."

Taken together, "ontological realism", "epistemological relativity", and "judgmental rationality" is the "holy trinity" of Bhaskarian philosophical/scientific realism.

This is groundbreaking philosophical work which is simultaneously liberation for those practicing science.

One of the most important contributions to the philosophy of science. Essential reading for philosophically-inclined scientists and social scientists.