The British school of critical realism, which has been customarily referred to as Bhaskarian critical realism, is associated with the London-born philosopher Roy Bhaskar (Hind,      , Rma Rya Bhskara as pronounced in this !"# audio file$, %&''-)%', amon* many others+ t was initiated with basic critical realism   also known as original critical realism or first-wave critical  realism+ Bhaskar s lifework was subse.uently completed, in )), with the philosophy of metaReality (!"# audio file$+ /0er the ne1t do2en years, until his death, he then elucidated and applied metaReality+ Like critical (social$ theory, critical realism focuses upon emancipation from domination+ Howe0er, critical realists presuppose the ob3ecti0e e1istence of a speculati0e, unseen reality, ontolo*ically distinct from either human consciousness or actual e0ents+ 4umerous critical theorists ha0e, by contrast, routinely failed to acknowled*e any clear lines of demarcation+
Both Bhaskarian critical realism and critical theory can be classified as rubrics of neo-!ar1ism+ 4e0ertheless, in critical realism, oppression is a manifestation of demireality (disunity in difference$+ /ppressi0e ideolo*ies  ethnicism, se1ism5miso*yny, classism, lookism, ableism5disablism, heterose1ism5heteronormati0ity5homophobia, racism, si2eism, anti-slamicism5slamophobia5anti-!uslimism, antisemitism5anti-6udaism, biphobia, si*htism, a*eism, lookism, adultism, audism, hei*htism, cisse1ism5cisnormati0ity5transanta*onism, sanism5mentalism5neurotypicalism5neurelitism, and all the restare both interpreti0e and instrumental (or 7real8$+ They refer to human knowled*e about   demireality and to systems of domination+ Those ideolo*ies, therefore, need to be dismantled or eliminated, not merely attacked or refuted, as in some adaptations of critical theoryincludin* both the ori*inal 9rankfurt :chool and the more recent new critical theories+ This e1tensi0ely sourced publication focuses, primarily,
on Bhaskarian critical realism+ Howe0er, se0eral approaches which may resemble Bhaskarian critical realism to some de*ree, alon* with a multitude of non- Bhaskarian forms of critical realism (the di0erse e1pressions of theolo*ical critical realism and Roman ;atholic critical realism alon* with hypothetical<  fallibilist critical realism, epistemic critical realism, critical direct realism, critical socially contested realism, critical aesthetic realism, radical critical realism, critical
ontolo*ical realism, creati0e critical realism, and so forth$, will be documented in succeedin* chapters+ The linea*es of Bhaskar s philosophy 0is-=-0is other critical realisms are historically independent+ >et, Bhaskarian and some non-Bhaskarian 0ariations of critical realism, notwithstandin* an apparent lack of 7pedi*ree,8 do con0er*e in certain areas, includin*, notably, their treatments of emer*ence and causal structures+ 9rom a Bhaskarian critical realist standpoint, all
ontolo*ical e1plorations must be accompanied by an epistemic humility+ ;ritical realism, contra naïve realism, presumes the relati0ity of human perception+ ndeed, considerations of na?0e or direct  realism, will, *enerally speakin*, be rather unfa0orable in this work+ To the na?0e realist, the Real domain of *enerati0e mechanisms is immediately witnessed by the empirical obser0er+ There is no mediation by the @ctual domain, the plane of e0ents and non-e0ents+ Ahen carried o0er into methodolo*ies of hermeneutics or te1tual interpretation, the propositions of na?0e realism become, in a word, ludicrous+ ifferent people readin* the same literary work are assumed, in effect, to be reading the mind  of the writer+ @lthou*h this thorou*hly indefensible perspecti0e is also sometimes referred to as commonsense realism, the alle*ed association with 7common sense8 is, oddly enou*h, itself a dialectical contradiction+ 4a?0e realism can be illustrated by religious literalism, as
distin*uised inC the assorted forms of ;hristian fundamentalism, Haredi 6udaism (Hebrew, DEFGIJKM NOGJMPE,
 
>Qh S h-H   rU iym$, and the Turkish<slamic creationism of @dnan /ktar (!"# audio file$popularly known by his pen name Harun >ahya (!"# audio file$+ !eanwhile, the disenchantment of scientism is e0ident from the often unnuanced and anta*onistic reification of the word 7reli*ion8 by such proponents of the 4ew @theism asC Richard awkins, :amuel Ben3amin 7:am8 Harris, aniel ;+ ennett, Bill !aher, Brian Veith alton, Lawrence !+ Vrauss, 6ulia Walef , @yaan Hirsi @li (@rabic, X Y Z[\]  X Y [ _ `[  ]], @yn Hirsiyy @liyy$, bn Aarra.  (@rabic, g j ]   `g[, bn Aarr., 7son of papermaker8$, 6erry ;oyne, :te0en @+ "inker, "aul achary 7"+ +8 !yers, 6ennifer !ichael Hecht, !att illahunty, !ichael :hermer, a0id :il0erman, Vyle Vulinski, and the late ;hristopher Hitchens+ The eminent "olish-born sraeli chemist and secular
6ewish thinker srael :hahak (Hebrew, PK qI FE, >ir Ul vh   Q.$, %&##-))%, has candidly addressed the issue of Haredi 6udaism in srael+ He offers the followin* rudimentary definitionsC Haredim (79earful8 in the meanin* 7Wod-fearin*8 in Hebrew$C
4ame of those 6ewish fundamentalists who refuse modern inno0ations+ Haredi is the sin*ular form and is also an ad0erb+ srael :hahak with an introduction by 4orton !e20insky+  Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel + :econd edition+ London and @nn @rbor, !ichi*anC "luto "ress+ ))'+ "a*e 11iii+x sraeli reli*ious 6ews are di0ided into two distinctly different
*roups+ The members of the reli*iously more e1treme *roup are called Haredim+ (The sin*ular word is Haredi or Hared+$ The members of the reli*iously more moderate *roup are called
 
reli*ious-national 6ews+ The reli*ious-national 6ews are sometimes called 7knitted skullcaps8 because of their head co0erin*+ Haredim usually wear black skullcaps that are ne0er knitted, or hats+ The reli*ious-national 6ews otherwise usually dress in the more usual sraeli fashion, while the Haredim almost always wear black clothes+ srael :hahak with an introduction by 4orton !e20insky+  Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel + :econd edition+ London and @nn @rbor, !ichi*anC "luto "ress+ ))'+ "a*e +x @ .ualification is in order re*ardin* that otherwise
helpful and succinct description of the 6ewish Haredi mo0ement in the first .uotation+ The loaded term 7fundamentalism8 should be utili2ed both cautiously and correctly+ t has only been adopted as a self-desi*nation within a particular se*ment of authentically @merican neo-"rotestantism+ !oreo0er, since none of the reli*ious or*ani2ations within slam, 6udaism, or, for that matter, any non-;hristian faiths ha0e e0er officially referred to themsel0es as 7fundamentalists,8 scholars would seemin*ly be well-ad0isedas an issue of wisdom, precision, and respectfulnessto a0oid applyin* the commonly deconte1tuali2ed characteri2ation, fre.uently as a pe3orati0e or an epithet, to adherents of different   belief systems+ Re*rettably, the academic literature on the sub3ect, e0en in this writer s own substanti0e area of the sociolo*y of reli*ion, has, to the present day, been frustratin*ly inconsistent+ Thus, probably would, in the ma3ority of instances,
prefer Bhaskar s term 7incorri*ibility8the stubborn unwillin*ness to sub3ect one s personal obser0ations to a
 
systematic criti.ue and, thereby, shuttin* the door to any reasonable correction or reformationo0er his 7interpreti0e fundamentalism+8 @ttainin* degrees of 7certitude8 is the disco0ery of truth+ 7;ertainty,8 on the other hand, is incorri*ibility+ /ne of the more widespread species of incorri*ibility is the so-called new racism. @ few commonplace e1amples areC the color-blind racist reaction to @ffirmati0e @ction, the model-minority stereotype of @sian @mericans wielded like a sled*e hammer a*ainst @frican @mericans, the culture-of- po0erty thesis which blames the 0ictims of capitalism for their own oppression, the nati0ist impulse as a poorly dis*uised co0er for underlyin* racism, and the hi*hly fashionable white supremacist or anti-multicultural hostility to the self-styled 7political correctness+8 @ccordin* to BhaskarC z the *enerati0e rle of a*ents skills, wants and beliefs and of
 
and :cientific Re0olutions+8 Re0iew article+ Isis+ |olume ', number , 6une %&}#+ "a*es ~}-~&+x z what we ha0e today is the dominance of market
fundamentalism+ They sayC lea0e it all to the market+ Ahat is the meanin* of that• The meanin* of that is that somethin* else is *oin* on behind the back of the market, which is what they are interested in+ @nd we ha0en t 3ust *ot today the disembeddin* of markets from the social conte1t+ Ae 0e *ot the disembeddin* of money, of finance capital, from product markets+ Roy Bhaskar in Roy Bhaskar and @le1 ;allinicos, 7!ar1ism and ;ritical RealismC @ ebate+8 Journal of !ritical Realism+ |olume %, issue , 4o0ember ))#+ "a*es }&-%%'+x By %&&€, completed Structural "ialectics a
4eoplatonic idealist synthesis of critical theory and Har0ard sociolo*ist "itirim @+ :orokin s integralism   prior to de0isin* Restructurational Realism, my initial 0ersion of Bhaskarian critical realism, durin* ))#<))'+ Re*rettably, toward the end of ))', e1perienced an e1istential crisis+ t was related to my estran*ement from an emotionally and a 0erbally abusi0e na?0e reli*ious realist+ conse.uently abandoned critical realism alto*ether and embraced new critical theory, post- !ar1ism, nominalism, and stron* social constructionism+ n this framework, later referred to suitably as  mancipatory !onstructionism, reduced reality to lin*uistic abstractions+ mancipation and domination became accidental cate*ories+ 4ot only was profoundly alienated from nature+ , ultimately, re3ected the haecceity (!"# audio file$, the thisness, of human nature itself+ 9ortunately, my life s narrati0e has pro*ressed+
 
The born lo0er, to whose de*ree the musician also may attain < and then either come to a stand or pass beyond < has a certain memory of beauty but, se0ered from it now, he no lon*er comprehends itC spellbound by 0isible lo0eliness he clin*s ama2ed about that+ His lesson must be to fall down no lon*er in bewildered deli*ht before some, one embodied form‚ he must be led, under a system of mental discipline, to beauty e0erywhere and made to discern the /ne "rinciple underlyin* all, a "rinciple apart from the material forms, sprin*in* from another source, and elsewhere more truly present+ "lotinus+ #he !omplete $or%s of &lotinus + :tephen !acVenna, translator+ Hastin*s, n*landC elphi ;lassics imprint of elphi "ublishin* Ltd+ )%~+ "a*e #€+x z with 4eoplatonic idealism came the influence of the .uasi-
mythical Hippodamus, Wreek father of the ideal cityespecially his 7confidence that the processes of reason could impose measure and order on e0ery human acti0ity+8 @n*el Rama, 7The /rdered ;ityC 9rom #he 'ettered !ity+8 Foucault in 'atin (merica) (ppropriations and "eployments of  "iscoursive (nalysis+ Beni*no Tri*o, editor+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%+ "a*es #-%~+x deeply respect the beautiful reli*ion of slam, but
 
(@rabic, ˆ‰ Š[‹ ]^ ` Œ[ g _   , t   uru. al- slmiyya $ which in0ol0e 0arious mystical practices, includin* a discipline of meditation elaborated an eclectic methodolo*y for phenomenolo*ical reflection called Heartfulness  In*uiry + + Ahile en*a*in* in a se.uence of internal con0ersations, o0er a three-day +:+ Labor ay weekend (:eptember #rd <~th, )%%$, reco*ni2ed, in an instant, the cause and *ra0ity of my mistake and returned  to critical realism throu*h my "ialectical metaRealism + + This pro3ect has, from its inception, been a labor of lo0e+ ts research methodolo*yknown in the literature as a 7critical realist re0iew8 is one of the items referenced in the first chapter of the book+ The procedure embraces an epistemolo*y of phenomenolo*ical analysis, includin* a dynamically en*a*ed process of theoretical speculation on causal or *enerati0e mechanisms+ /n a mundane le0el, the book is published throu*h #he Institute for "ialectical  metaRealism + , !ark @+ 9oster s Bhaskarian critical realist pro3ect+ t was called, in two of its earlier 0irtual incarnations, #he Institute for Structuri,ation #heory and #he Institute for mancipatory !onstructionism+ The institute ser0es as the theory, research, and literary a*ency of #he ar%Foster.#wor%  + , a self-publishin* portal+ "lease 0isit the institute s website for additional information and resources+ 9urthermore, #he "r. ar% Foster Show +  podcast fre.uently features critical realist topics+
Return to the table of contents.
 
+ Bhaskarian ;ritical Realism (Roy Bhaskar, !ar*aret :+ @rcher, !er0yn Hartwi*, Tony Lawson, Lena Wunnarsson, @ndrew ;ollier, Ruth "orter Wroff, ;hristian 9uchs, Varen 9alconer @l-Hindi, Heikki "atomki, 6onathan 6oseph, @lan 4orrie, @ndrew Ari*ht, Brenda 9arnell, @lister + !cWrath, ;arrie Hull, Hubert Buch-Hansen, 9r‘d‘ric |andenber*he, ;hristian :mith, 6ac.ueline Aatson, Tobin 4ellhaus, a0e lder-|ass, @ndrew :ayer, 4eil Hockey, @ndrew Brown, :ean ;rea0en, !ark @+ 9oster, and many others$C This 7British school8 of critical realism has pro*ressed throu*h 0arious turns or sta*es+ ach of them will be e1plored in the present chapter+
7z was well known to be a !ar1ist and to identify with the re0olutionary left+8 Roy Bhaskar in Roy Bhaskar with !er0yn Hartwi*+ #he Formation of !ritical Realism) ( &ersonal &erspective+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%)+ "a*e '+x
 
imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%)+ "a*e %%+x
7ialectical critical realism pro0ides the most abstract concepts for understandin* bein* and therefore the most abstract concepts for a criti.ue of de0elopments within !ar1ism+ t pro0ides a criti.ue of anti-!ar1ism, and think on the whole my intention, certainly at the time of writin* "ialectic  Bhaskar s book,  "ialectic) #he &ulse of Freedomx, was to support the science of history !ar1 had opened up+8 Roy Bhaskar in Roy Bhaskar with !er0yn Hartwi*+ #he Formation of !ritical Realism)  ( &ersonal &erspective+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%)+ "a*e %#'+x
 
4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%)+ "a*e %')+x
7 was 0ery *rateful to !ar*aret :+ @rcherx z+ had done the work on the ne*ati0e *eneralisation but think she showed me in 0ery stark terms that there was no way that my position was the same as that of Tony @nthonyx Widdens+8 Roy Bhaskar in Roy Bhaskar with !er0yn Hartwi*+ #he Formation of !ritical Realism) ( &ersonal &erspective+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%)+ "a*e })+x
79or critical realism, philosophy does not speak about a world apart from the world of science and e0eryday life+ Rather, it speaks about the most abstract features of 3ust such a world+ These abstract features are e1pressed by philosophical cate*ories such as causality, substance, etc+ 9or critical realism, such cate*ories are real+8 Roy Bhaskar, 7"role*onenonC The conse.uences of the re0indication of philosophical ontolo*y for philosophy and social theory+8 ngaging with the $orld) (gency/ institutions/ historical formations+ !ar*aret :+ @rcher and @ndrea !accarini, editors+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%#+ "a*e %+x
 
in0ariances under relati0ely special closed condition+ z There is an ontolo*ical *ap between causal laws and their empirical *rounds, which both parties to the naturalist debate ha0e hitherto i*nored+ This not only renders standard positi0ist methodolo*ical in3unctions patently inapplicable, it also 0itiates the most familiar hermeneutical contrasts+ Thus 3ust as a rule can be broken without bein* chan*ed, so a natural mechanism may continue to endure, and the law it *rounds be both applicable and true (that is, not falsified$, thou*h its effect, i+e+ the conse.uent, be unreali2ed+8 Roy Bhaskar, 7/n the "ossibility of :ocial :cientific Vnowled*e and the Limits of 4aturalism+8 Journal for the #heory of Social  0ehaviour + |olume }, issue %, !arch %&}+ "a*es %- }+x
 
@lthusser s scientism < if we re3ect these 0iews‚ what ha0e we left to fall back on• oes the ’classical“ !ar1ism of the post-war period ha0e the necessary de*ree of scientificity and e1planatory power, or is it also infested with schematic posturin*• The problem seems to be that since the be*innin* of the last century, all the alternati0es to :talinism and reformism ha0e been cate*orised as either ’Aestern“ !ar1ist or ’classical“ !ar1ist+ "erhaps the answer to this @ndersonian problem is to take up critical realism and, throu*h its underlabourin* *ettin* rid of the trash, rubbish, or weedsx, rid oursel0es of the unnecessaries so that we can *et back to bein* 3ust plain !ar1ists+8 6onathan 6oseph, 79i0e Aays in which ;ritical Realism ;an Help !ar1ism+8 !ritical  Realism and ar1ism+ @ndrew Brown, :te0e 9leetwood, and 6ohn !ichael Roberts, editors+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ ))+ "a*es ')-'%+x
 
{ 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ ))+ "a*e }€+x
7n the early %&)s, Royx Bhaskar started as a !ar1ist e1istentialist, with a stron* @lthusserian fla0our+ 9or the early Bhaskar, life is ultimately meanin*less+8 Heikki "atomki, 7How do Tell Better ;osmic :toriesC @ Re3oinder to 4ick Hostettler+8  Journal of !ritical Realism+ |olume &, issue %, @pril )%)+ "a*es %)'-%%%+x
7;ritical realism offers an ontolo*y that can conceptuali2e reality, support theori2in*, and *uide empirical work in the natural and human sciences+ t 0iews reality as comple1 and reco*ni2es the role of both a*ency and structural factors in influencin* human beha0ior+8 @le1ander !+ ;lark, 7;ritical Realism+8 #he S(2 ncyclopedia of 3ualitative  Research ethods+ Lisa !+ Wi0en, *eneral editor+ Thousand /aks, ;aliforniaC @ :@W Reference "ublication imprint of :@W "ublications, nc+ ))}+ "a*e %€+x
 
Bhaskar+ "ialectic) #he &ulse of Freedom+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ ))}+ "a*e 10iii+x
7n late %&%, Royx Bhaskar submitted a dissertation entitled ’:ome "roblems about 1planation in the :ocial :ciences+“ His e1aminers re3ected it+ The official reason was e1cessi0e len*th+ The real reason may ha0e been e1cessi0e heterodo1y+ Bhaskar s realist 0iews were 0ery much outside the analytic mainstream at the time+ (They still are+$ ndeterred, he continued workin* on the dissertation pro3ect for se0eral more years+ t was e0entually accepted in %&', despite the fact that it had *rown to some si1 0olumes by this time+ Those si1 0olumes were subse.uently reworked into his first three books z+8 "hilip :+ Worski, 7Ahat is ;ritical Realism• @nd Ahy :hould >ou ;are•8 !ontemporary Sociology+ |olume ', number ~, )%#+ "a*es €~}-€)+x
7Roy Bhaskar
7%~ !ay %&'' < %& 4o0ember )%'
 
BLitt Latin, Baccalauretus Litterrum, Bachelor of Letters‚ a second under*raduate de*ree awarded, until %&, by the ni0ersity of /1ford in a particular speciali2ationx for his thesis on ’@ realist theory of science“ (published as his first book the followin* year$+ He held a succession of part-time posts at "embroke ;olle*e, /1ford, the uni0ersities of dinbur*h and :usse1, the ni0ersity of Troms– in 4orway, and latterly the nstitute of ducation in London, and was a much-lo0ed teacher+ His philosophical work, characterised successi0ely as ’transcendental realism,“ ’critical naturalism“ and ’critical realism,“ latterly with a ’spiritual turn,“ lay outside the mainstream of academic philosophy but won him a number of admirers and followers+ He was sur0i0ed by his partner, Rebecca+8
ditors, 7/bituaries )%'+8 /1ford Today+ ni0ersity of /1ford+ Retrie0ed on @pril ~th, )%€+x
7Ram Bhaskar, *enerally known as Roy, died on %& 4o0ember )%', of heart failure+z
7z when he really needed it, he could not *et a full- time academic 3ob and so spent his last % years stru**lin* to make ends meet+ This in my 0iew is the price he paid abo0e all for the dialectical and spiritual turns, which were widely *reeted with alienated hostility and orientalist talk of *urus and cults+8
 
!er0yn Hartwi*, 7Roy Bhaskar (%&''<)%'$+8 /bituary+ #he conomic and 'abour Relations Review+ |olume €, number %, )%~+ "a*es %€-%€#+x
7Ae note with *reat re*ret that within weeks of each other, the 6ournal has lost two of its foundin* 0oices‚ Roy Bhaskar and :er*e !osco0ici+ @s is well known, Roy and :er*e were foundational in the de0elopment of ;ritical Realism and :ocial Representations Theory respecti0ely, both of which ha0e inspired many of the articles published in 6ournal for the Theory of :ocial Beha0iour+ Both were so much more than their hu*e intellectual contributions‚ they were cheerful, *enerous friends and collea*ues+ Ae mourn their passin*, but we look for comfort in their continued presence in our pa*es+8 ditors, 7ditorial+8 Journal for the #heory of Social  0ehaviour + |olume '~, issue %, !arch )%~+ "a*e %+x
@+ Basic (alternately, ori*inal or first-wa0e$ critical realism (from %&~ throu*h %&&#$ was the first turn (or phase$ of critical realism+ The three le0els of relati0e reality are the Real, the @ctual, and the mpirical+ (ctualism is e1plained as reducin* the Real to the @ctual+ n the mpirical domain, one obser0es the e0ents in the @ctual domain and speculates upon the underlyin* structures and mechanisms in the Real domain+ That is to say, Bhaskar disa*reed with @ristotle+ :ince the Real can only be obser0ed indirectly 
 
 
ia*ram @
7t was ob0ious that the kind of ontolo*y one needed was a depth-ontolo*y that in0ol0ed structures, mechanisms and fields, somethin* other than e0ents+ This issued in the distinction between the domains of the real, the actual and the empirical z+8 Roy Bhaskar in Roy Bhaskar with !er0yn Hartwi*+ #he Formation of !ritical  Realism) ( &ersonal &erspective+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%)+ "a*e #~+x
 
Roy Bhaskar in Roy Bhaskar with !er0yn Hartwi*+ #he Formation of !ritical Realism) (  &ersonal &erspective+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%)+ "a*e %%&+x
7;ritical realism furnishes the world z with intransiti0e ob3ects that e1ist independently of our knowled*e of them+ This does not mean that they are immutable, that they all e1ist outside of culture, or that knowled*e of them cannot be used to effect chan*es in them+ /ur understandin* of these ob3ects is howe0er transiti0e, relati0e and fallible+ t is at this point that critical realism is open to en*a*ement with aspects of postmodernism, and with feminism after the cultural turn, includin* feminist standpoint epistemolo*y+z
7;ritical realism accepts ’epistemic relati0ism,“ that is the 0iew that the world can only be known in terms of a0ailable descriptions or discourses, but it re3ects 73ud*emental relati0ism8 < the 0iew that one cannot 3ud*e between different discourses and decide that some accounts are better than others+8
 
on ;ritical RealismC nter0entions+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ ))+ "a*es #-'+x
7!echanisms, e0ents and e1periences thus constitute three o0erlappin* domains of reality, 0i2+ the domains of the real , the actual  and the empirical +8 Roy Bhaskar+ ( Realist #heory of  Science+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ ))}+ "a*e '€+x
 
7z synchronic emergent powers materialism is consistent with the epistemolo*ical, ontolo*ical and lo*ical priority of semantic, hermeneutic and semiotic relations o0er physical, syntactical and formal (includin* al*orithmic$ relations+ deas, then, as emer*ent powers of the total world system, are capable of actin* back on the materials out of which they are diachronically formed+ @nd they are causally and ta1onomically irreducible modes of manifestation of matter, more *enerally nature (or let us say bein*$+8 Roy Bhaskar, 7/n the /ntolo*ical :tatus of deas+8  Journal for the #heory of Social 0ehaviour + |olume , number 5#, %&&+ "a*es %#&-%'+x
7n nature short shrift is *i0en to mistakes+ Howe0er, if humans are a mistake of nature, it may not be because of the lopsided de0elopment of their brains z but because of the failure of humans to de0elop a satisfactory social life+8 Roy Bhaskar, 7The @rro*ance of Humanism+8  'eonardo+ |olume %', number ', autumn %&}%+ "a*e ##'+x
 
to this process of the successi0e disco0ery and description of e0er deeper, and e1planatorily more basic, strata can be en0isa*ed+ /ther sciences re0eal a similar open-ended stratification+8 Roy Bhaskar, 79orms of Realism+8 &hilosophica+ |olume %~, number %, %&~+ "a*es &&-%+x
 
"ennsyl0aniaC /pen ni0ersity "ress imprint of !cWraw-Hill ducation+ ))#+ "a*e ''+x
7z ar*ue that hermeneutics must be the startin* point of any social in.uiry, and that the hermeneutical paradi*m, e0en in its Ainchian form "eter Ainchx, is consistent with a realist account of science+8 Roy Bhaskar in 6ohn :hotter+ !onversational Realities) !onstructing  'ife through 'anguage+ Thousand /aks, ;aliforniaC :@W "ublications, nc+ %&&#+ "a*e %}€+x
7z on the transcendental realist approach, which and a number of others ha0e recently elaborated, ontolo*ical realism and epistemolo*ical relati0ism presuppose each other+8 Roy Bhaskar, 7:cientific "ro*ressC @ :tudy ;oncernin* the 4ature of the Relation Between :uccessi0e :cientific Theories and :cientific Re0olutions+8 Re0iew article+ Isis+ |olume ', number , 6une %&}#+ "a*es ~}-~&+x
 
one to the other+ These attempts are necessarily unsuccessful so that they result merely in the *eneration of an implicit or dis*uised ontolo*y (in the intransiti0e dimension$ or sociolo*y (in the transiti0e one$+ But the attempt to do so secures the dominance in philosophy of an empiricist ontolo*y and an indi0idualist sociolo*y‚ and it is in this attempt and its results that the ideolo*ical 0alue of classical philosophy lies+ @n ade.uate account of science depends, by contrast, upon the de0elopment of an e1plicit non-empiricist ontolo*y and a non-indi0idualist conception of scientific acti0ity (or sociolo*y, in the special sense of the word am usin* here$+8 Roy Bhaskar, 79eyerabend and BachelardC Two "hilosophies of :cience+8 ew 'eft Review+ |olume , number &', 4o0ember-ecember %&~+ "a*es #%-~~+x
 
statements about itbut only if one abandons the sort of positi0ist numbercrunchin* that passes for science amon* most current sociolo*ists or economists, and *i0es up on the idea that social science will e0er be able to establish predicti0e laws+8 a0id Wraeber+ #oward (n  (nthropological #heory of 6alue) #he False !oin of 7ur 7wn "reams+ 4ew >orkC "al*ra0e imprint of :t+ !artin s "ress, LL;+ ))%+ "a*e ~cc#+x
7z to e1plain social re*ularities (or pro*ram outcomes$, we cannot rely e1clusi0ely on repeated obser0ations+ nstead, we must *o below the ’domain of empirical,“ surface-le0el descriptions of constant con3unctions and statistical correlations to identify the underlyin* mechanisms that account for ’re*ularities in the  3oint-occurrence of e0ents“ z+8 Brad @stbury and 9rans L+ Leeuw, 7npackin* Black Bo1esC !echanisms and Theory Buildin* in 0aluation,8  (merican Journal of valuation+ |olume #%, number #, )%)+ "a*es #€#-#}%+x
 
e1perience‚ to the real, wherein lie the causal mechanismsusually unseenby 0irtue of which one e0ent causes another+ Vey to critical realism s understandin* of this process is the claim that mo0ement from the empirical to the real in0ol0es mo0ement alon* a continuum from an ’open“ toward a ’closed“ system+8 4eil Wross, 7@ "ra*matist Theory of :ocial !echanisms+8  (merican Sociological Review+ |olume ', 6une ))&+ "a*es #~}-#&+x
7The separation of the dimensions of the real and the empirical in Royx Bhaskar s critical realism can be read as an amplification of Varlx !ar1 s celebrated comment that ’all science would be superfluous if the outward appearance and the essence of thin*s directly coincided+“ T+ 6ayaraman, 7:cientific Realism for the ;ontemporary !aterialist+8 #he ar1ist + |olume #, number %, 6anuary-!arch ))+ "a*es #)- ~&+x
 
polemically in relation to alternati0e accounts+ n this respect the realist stance of Roy BH@:V@R z con0incin*ly ar*ues that social structure and human a*ency are distinct, but at the same time hi*hly inter-dependent entities+8 6an V+ ;oet2ee, 9lorian lliker, and @sta Rau, 7Trainin* for @d0anced Research in the 4arrati0e :tudy of Li0es Aithin the ;onte1t of "olitical and ducational TransformationC @ ;ase :tudy in :outh @frica+8 Forum 3ualitative  So,ialforschung8Forum) 3ualitative Social  Research+ |olume %', number , !arch )%#+ /nline publication+ 4o pa*ination+x
7@n actor is completely actuali2ed in any moment, inscribed without reser0e in its current scheme of alliances+ The term sometimes used for this doctrine is ’actualism,“ and some authors find it repellant+ The specter of actualism dri0es Roy Bhaskar from entities to the laws they must obser0e z+8 Wraham Harman+ &rince of  etwor%s) 0runo 'atour and etaphysics+ /pen access+ !elbourne, @ustraliaC re+press+ ))&+ "a*e %+x
 
Bhaskar s realism distin*uishes between three le0elsC the actual (the e0ents which actually take place$, the empirical (people s obser0ations of the e0ents$, and the deep (the underlyin* structures or powers which cause the e0ents$+ Bhaskar emphasi2es the lack of synchrony between the different realmsC for instance, there mi*ht be a discrepancy between people s obser0ations and what actually happened due to the theory-laden nature and fallibility of those obser0ations+8 "atrick Baert and 9ernando om—n*ue2 Rubio, 7"hilosophy of the :ocial :ciences+8 ew  0lac%well !ompanion to Social #heory+ Bryan :+ Turner, editor+ Blackwell "ublishin* Ltd+ imprint of Ailey-Blackwell+ ))&+ "a*es €)-})+x
 
repeatedly belittled actual leftists as 7the re*ressi0e left+8 @pparently, these acti0ists are denounced as regressive for their opposition to cultural he*emony  the imposition of Aestern nli*htenment 0alues on the Third Aorldand Aestern imperialism+
7@s a moral realist hold that there is an ob3ecti0e morality+ But how can it be known• This is where ethical naturalism comes in+ t lies in the transition from fact to 0alue (and theory to practice$+ :o there is an ethical alethia VoinU ˜ , or ;ommon, Wreek, ™š›œ, lU ˜ theia‚ truthx, a ultimately *rounded in conceptions of human nature z+8 Roy Bhaskar+ "ialectic) #he &ulse of Freedom+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ ))}+ "a*e %&+x
 
 "ialectic and "ifference) "ialectical !ritical Realism and the 2rounds of Justice+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%)+ "a*e %}+x
7z the con0entional distinction between an ’ou*ht“ and an ’is“ finds itself sub3ect to suspicion and e0en transcendence+ This is e1plicit within a particular realist tradition that e1tends from Varlx !ar1 to Royx Bhaskar and is e1emplified in 0ariants of standpoint feminism+8 !alcolm Ailliams and Tim !ay, 7;ommitment and n0esti*ation in Vnowin* the :ocial Aorld+8  International Journal of Social Research  ethodology+ |olume ~, number %, ))+ "a*es #-&+x
7@ critical realist e1planation doesn t in0ol0e deduction or induction but rather abduction and retroduction+
7z @bduction in0ol0es the interpretation and re- conte1tualisation of phenomena to be e1plained, usin* a competiti0ely plausible set of e1planatory ideas and concepts to produce a new interpretation z+ @bduction can help de0elop a broader, deeper knowled*e by buildin* on creati0ity and ima*ination+
 
processes z+ Retroduction in0ol0es ad0ancin* from empirical obser0ation to arri0e at somethin* different+ t re.uires that the researcher construct a hypothetical model that if it were to e1ist and act in the anticipated way, would account for the phenomena in .uestion+ The retroduction process helps in re0ealin* structures and mechanisms, and assessin* their relations and effects+ This process may produce emancipation by re0ealin* the structures and mechanisms in function+8
Velebo*ile V*osi+ !onceptualising housing as a  problem for poor people living with HI68(I"S in  0otswana) ( case study of 2aborone+ "h++ thesis (+:+ n*lish, dissertation$+ :chool of ;ity and Re*ional "lannin*, ;ardiff ni0ersity+ ;ardiff, Aales+ /ctober, )%)+ "a*e &'+x
7ialectical critical realism and the philosophy of meta-Reality could not e1ist without first-wa0e critical realism basic critical realismx, let alone flourish‚ they presuppose it, to*ether with constructi0e critical e1chan*es between the moments of the system+8 !er0yn Hartwi*, 7’/rthodo1“ ;ritical Realism and the ;ritical Realist mbrace+8 Journal of !ritical Realism+ |olume }, issue , !ay ))&+ "a*es ##-~+x
 
order may 0ary$ counts amon* the most celebrated philosophical concepts that the Latin !iddle @*es borrowed from the ancient world+z
7!ost classical authors considered the four 0irtues as attitudes to be de0eloped throu*h study and practice, either in public life or in the retired e1istence of the wise+8
st0”n "+ Be3c2y+ #he !ardinal 6irtues in the iddle  (ges) ( Study in oral #hought from the Fourth to the Fourteenth !entury+ Boston, !assachusettsC Brill+ )%%+ "a*e %+x
7;ritical realism, a successor to representati0e realism, is an attempt to resol0e its predecessor s problem of errors and illusions+z xt is most commonly associated today with Roy Bhaskar+ 9undamentally, proponents of critical realism propose that mental or co*niti0e acti0ity plays a mediatin* role in understandin* the world+8 6ames @+ !arcum+ Humani,ing odern edicine) (n  Introductory &hilosophy of edicine+ 4ew >orkC :prin*er :cienceŸBusiness !edia+ ))}+ "a*e '#+x
B+ ialectical critical realism (from %&&# throu*h )))$ was the second turn, the dialectical  turn, of critical realism+ The dialectic, as transformed by Bhaskar, leads to truth, social 3ustice, and freedom from domination and i*norance+
ialectical critical realism also includes the e1planatory criti*ue+
 
books, research papers, e1perimental records  pro0ide strikin* e1amples of it+ ;onsider a book in a library+ t typically in0ol0es an absent (and possibly dead$ author, an absent reception necessary for its presence in the library, and absencesspaces inside and in between se.uences of marksnecessary for its intelli*ibility, its readability+ @*ain e1perimental acti0ity in0ol0es a real demediation of nature, pre0entin* or absentin* a state of affairs that would otherwise ha0e occurred, so as to enable us to identify a *enerati0e mechanism or comple1 free from outside influence or with such interference held constant+ These may, if one likes, be taken as transcendental deductions of the presence of real ne*ation in science, as conditions of its possibility+ Real ne*ationthink of empty spaces and absent 1 s where 1 stands in principle for any entity or feature+ /f course what is absent or 0oid at or from one le0el, re*ion or perspecti0e may be present at another+ This is what shall refer to as the ’duality of absence+“
 
about+ @ll cases of transformati0e ne*ation are also cases of real ne*ation but the con0erse is not the case+ They all in0ol0e the cessation or absentin* of a pre-e1istin* entity or state+ @ special, and hi*hly important, case of transformati0e ne*ation is radical ne*ation, which in0ol0es the autosub0ersion, transformation or o0ercomin* of a bein* or condition+8
Roy Bhaskar+ "ialectic) #he &ulse of Freedom+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ ))}+ "a*es '-~+x
7f we allow that reasons can be causes, z and that absences (e+*+ of food or shelter$ can act as constraints, then, 0ia the mediation of the concept of *eneration, we can work our way to a definition of the a1iolo*y of freedom as the absenting of absences+8 Roy Bhaskar+ &lato tc.) #he &roblems of &hilosophy and their Resolution+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%)+ "a*e €+x
 
is in some other re*ion < na < or because it does not e1ist at all < ni < either because it is finite and has perished < ni < or because it ne0er did e1ist  < ni (whether it will or may come to e1ist or not$+ @nd the absence of such an entity < let me call this absence n (to co0er *enerically the abo0e cases$ < may precisely, *ua absence, ha0e causal effects on ob3ects in the rele0ant space-time re*ion, and as such satisfy the causal criterion for ascribin* reality to thin*s+ :uch real absence, includin* real none1istence, is radical ne*ation+8 Roy Bhaskar+ &hilosophy and the Idea of Freedom+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%%+ Vindle edition+x
 
 Introduction to !ontemporary &hilosophy+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%%+ "a*e %'~+x
 
human acti0ity or pra1is as essentially transformati0e or poietic, as consistin* in the transformation of pre*i0en material (natural and social$ causes by efficient (intentional$ hu1man a*ency+8 Roy Bhaskar+ Scientific Realism and  Human mancipation+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis, an informa business+ ))&+ "a*e }+x
 
7ialectical de0elopment was undertaken by Roy Bhaskar, the founder of critical realism, in  "ialectic) the &ulse of Freedom z, widely re*arded as his ma*num opus+8 !ar0yn Hartwi*, 7;har*in* at Red 9la*s•C Blind :pots in Weoff Hod*son s ’"romised Land+“8  (lethia  (subse.uently renamed and reestablished as  Journal of !ritical Realism$+ |olume #, issue %, )))+ "a*es #€-')+x
ia*ram B
;+ Transcendental dialectical critical realism (from ))) throu*h ))$, the be*innin* of Bhaskar s spiritual turn, was an intermediate or transitional sta*e between dialectical critical realism and the philosophy of metaReality+ Transcendental
 
dialectical critical realism emer*ed followin* Bhaskar s personal e1periences with Transcendental !editation¡, reiki (!"# audio file$, tai chi (!"# audio file$, and fen* shui (!"# audio file$ amon* other practices+ He referred to transcendin* ordinary life throu*h personal faith-based acti0ities+ @lthou*h Bhaskar was not affiliated with a reli*ious or*ani2ation, his 7ndian father and z n*lish mother8 Roy Bhaskar+ From ast to $est) 7dyssey of a Soul + London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )))+ "a*e %+x belon*ed to the Theosophical :ociety in n*land+ Bhaskar, durin* his youth, spent time in the society s library+
7 felt knew .uite a lot about Theosophy !"# audio filex as there were many Theosophical books in my parents house, and also many books about reli*ion, and about medicine+ :o when went to the Theosophical :ociety !"# audio filex library, which was a *ood one, picked on the thin*s that Theosophy did not talk about, and also a0oided reli*ion in *eneral and medicine+8 Roy Bhaskar in Roy Bhaskar with !er0yn Hartwi*+ #he Formation of !ritical Realism) (  &ersonal &erspective+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%)+ "a*e €+x
 
7 attended classes on meditation, but also on tai chi, Reiki, fen* shui and the like, and this was an important part of the o0erall e1perience+ n order to do those courses and ha0e these e1periences, adopted a standpoint of innocence+8 Roy Bhaskar in Roy Bhaskar with !er0yn Hartwi*+ #he Formation of !ritical  Realism) ( &ersonal &erspective+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%)+ "a*e %'&+x
7z disco0ered was that the Reiki practitioner s husband was a teacher of transcendental meditation+ :o did a course in that too+ This reawakened me to thin*s that had been 0a*uely familiar with in my youth, and a*ain found this a 0ery mo0in* e1perience+ decided to undertake a systematic in0esti*ation into the forms, practical and theoretical, of what could be called eastern mysticism+ Reiki did not last+ !editation is somethin* profound+8 Roy Bhaskar in Roy Bhaskar with !er0yn Hartwi*+ #he Formation of !ritical Realism) ( &ersonal  &erspective+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%)+ "a*e %'€+x
 
dialectical critical realism z+ liberationz+ 9or the philosophy am indebted to *enerationsone could say millenniaof teachers, some of whom are encountered in the narrati0e+8 Roy Bhaskar+ From ast to $est) 7dyssey of a Soul + London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )))+ Vindle edition+x
7z want to focus on that dialectic of co-  presence which is the dialectic of autonomous and heteronomous < or real and irreal < determinations+z
7z The central idea here in transcendental dialectical critical realismx is that man is essentially Wodlike, subsistin* and actin* in a world of relati0ity and duality+ @ difference sprin*s up only as a product of illusion+8
Roy Bhaskar, 7ntroducin* Transcendental ialectical ;ritical Realism+8 Journal of !ritical  Realism+ |olume #, issue %, 6uly )))+ "a*es %~- %+x
 
parenta*e, Aest by domicile, 4ew Left by reason, 4ew @*e by heart+ This may partly account for the fact that, of all Bhaskar s books, 9A is by far the most personal‚ it can be heard as a cry of pain z, and of 3oy, an e1pression of release from sufferin*, of recuperation of the future+8 !er0yn Hartwi*, 74ew Left, 4ew @*e, 4ew "aradi*m•C Roy Bhaskar s From ast to $est +8 Journal for the #heory of Social 0ehaviour + |olume #%, number , ))%+ "a*es %#&-%€~+x
+ The philosophy of metaReality (from )) throu*h )%'$, Bhaskar“s completed form of critical realism and the blossomin* or efflorescence of his spiritual turn, can be obser0ed o0er the final do2en years of his life+ @ccordin* to the philosophy of metaReality, the Real consists of copresence (unity in difference$, relati0e reality (difference or di0ersity$, and demireality (disunity in difference$+ @ll emancipatory pro3ects (not only faith-based acti0ities$, in the philosophy of metaReality, can eliminate the oppression (or domination$ of demireality throu*h copresence, the cosmic en0elope, the *round state, or nonduality+ n the 0iew of this writer, the philosophy of metaReality offers a trans-!ar1ism+ Both !ar1ism and the earlier turns of critical realism are transcended, all without bein* abandoned, throu*h the
ia*ram ;
 
free de0elopment of all,“ but which is e.ually poi*nantly e1pressed, within !ahayana Buddhism, by the standpoint of the Bodhisatt0a :anskrit,  , bodhisatt0a‚ or, "l   i,  , bodhisattax who stri0es unceasin*ly for the awakenin* and fulfilment of all other bein*s in creation+ n fact some such commitment is a basic feature of all uni0ersalisin* systems of ethics, and indeed it is a tacit presupposition of the emancipatory pro3ect as such+8 Roy Bhaskar+  Reflections on metaReality) #ranscendence/  mancipation and veryday 'ife+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%+ Vindle edition+x
7The possibility of human emancipation depends upon e1pandin* the 2one of non-duality within our li0es‚ and in the first instance upon the sheddin* of our own heteronomy, so that we become in a way non-dual bein*s in a world of duality+8 Roy Bhaskar+ Reflections on metaReality) #ranscendence/ mancipation and  veryday 'ife+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%+ Vindle edition+x
 
account of the fundamental shape of relati0e reality (the world of non-identity and duality$, but is surpassed as ’realism about transcendence leads to the self-transcendence of realism“ in a conception of an infrastructural absolute reality or foundational le0el of bein* that, as a necessary condition ’for any bein* at all“ z, underpins and sustains the dualistic world that critical realism addresses, in all its permutations+8 Roy Bhaskar+  Reflections on metaReality) #ranscendence/  mancipation and veryday 'ife+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%+ Vindle edition+x
7"!R philosophy of metaRealityx is z a form of panentheism, which, howe0er, is si*nificantly different from the "latonic panentheism espoused by Thomasx 4a*el (’:ecular philosophy“$ and He*elian panentheism z+8 Roy Bhaskar+ From  Science to mancipation) (lienation and the actuality of enlightenment + London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%+ Vindle edition+x
 
ar*umentation for (meta$-realist positions from *eo-historically relati0e premises *oes hand-in- hand with a twofold process of immanent criti.ueC (%$ of the philosophical discourse of modernity ("!$ in the conte1t of a totalisin* criti.ue of Aestern philosophy as such‚ and ($ of  critical realism s own prior phases+
7z The chief characteristics of "!, to*ether with the elements of its critical realist and metaRealist criti.ue, are set out in z this bookx+ z xt isx clear that the fundamental motor of z thisx philosophy has been the identification of key absences in "! z+8
Roy Bhaskar+ Reflections on metaReality) #ranscendence/ mancipation and veryday 'ife+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%+ Vindle edition+x
 
!ritical Realism+ |olume ~, issue %, !ay ))+ "a*es %-#'+x
7 m ar*uin* that self-reali2ation is not that difficult, and it s implicit in anythin* and e0erythin* we do‚ and that there s no other way forward, no other way in which we can sustain the continuity of the life of our species, and all the other species on the planet that we 0e been spoilin*+8 Roy Bhaskar, 7The "hilosophy of !eta-Reality < "art C @*ency, "erfectibility, 4o0elty+8 Journal of !ritical Realism+ |olume %, issue %, 6uly ))+ "a*es €-&#+x
7z the philosophy of metaReality ("!R$ z+ both lar*ely embraces and *oes beyond ;R critical realismx, and which (or somethin* like it$ is in my 0iew dialectically necessary for the ’completion“ and inte*rity of the philosophical system+8 !er0yn Hartwi*+ "ictionary of !ritical  Realism+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ ))+ "a*e 10i+x
 
>orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ ))+ "a*e }'+x
7The term ’*round state“ is a term +++ which includesx not only the more reli*ious concept of ’soul“ but also the secular concept of our best or ’hi*her sel0es“ all *round states are connected in +++ the ’cosmic en0elope+“8 ;heryl 9rank, 7Wlobal Aarmin* and ;ultural5!edia @rticulations of mer*in* and ;ontendin* :ocial ma*inariesC @ ;ritical Realist "erspecti0e+8  Interdisciplinarity and !limate !hange) #ransforming 9nowledge and &ractice for 7ur 2lobal Future+ Roy Bhaskar, ;heryl 9rank, "etter 4¢ss, and 6enneth "arker, editors+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%)+ "a*e %%'+x
 
role of class consciousness < the crucial thin* in historical chan*e < don t understand the importance of consciousness+ Ahat else is there to human bein*s• There s our physical states, but how do we affect our physical states• /nly by doin* somethin* different• How do we do somethin* different• By thin%ing  differently+ :o social science plays an absolutely enormous role in this+8 Roy Bhaskar in Hubert Buch-Hansen, 7;ritical Realism in the :ocial :ciencesC @n nter0iew with Roy Bhaskar+8 "istin%tion)  Scandinavian Journal of Social #heory+ 4umber %%, ))~+ "a*es ~~-€~+x
7z "lato was clearly concerned not only with the state of his soul, but also with his relation to the uni0erse at the deepest le0el+ "lato s metaphysics was not intended to produce merely a detached understandin* of reality+ His moti0ation in philosophy was in part to achie0e a kind of understandin* that would connect him (and therefore e0ery human bein*$ to the whole of realityintelli*ibly and, if possible, satisfyin*ly+z
 
pro0ide the answer, or because it can be answered only in reli*ious terms+ But do not think this is ri*ht+ @ space remains open if we deny that reli*ion can make sense of e0erythin*+ @nd one of  the le*itimate functions of philosophy is either to try to occupy that place or else to offer a way of assimilatin* the fact that nothin* can occupy it+ The sub3ect o0erlaps with that of the meanin* of life, but it is not the same+ t is a .uestion of makin* sense not merely of our li0es, but of e0erythin*+8
Thomas 4a*el+ Secular &hilosophy and the  Religious #emperament) ssays :;;:-:;;<+ /1ford, n*land, and 4ew >orkC /1ford ni0ersity "ress+ )%)+ "a*es %-%#+x
+ applied (or practical$ critical realismC 7@pplied critical realism (@;R$ is not so much a theoretical mo0ement as much as it is the on*oin* practical in0esti*ations and inter0entions of critical realism in concrete fields+8 7@pplied ;ritical Realism (nterdisciplinarity$8  International !entre for !ritical Realism+ @u*ust %~th, )%~+ Retrie0ed on :eptember %&th, )%~+x
7z particularly consider how applied critical realism resol0es the dichotomy between structure and a*ency, which is at the heart of my study+ This antinomy can be e1plained as dependency
 
on a*ency+8 @bdullahi Ha3i-@bdi+ !ritical  Realism/ Somalia and the "iaspora !ommunity+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%#+ "a*e %+x
7This book is a 0ery welcome and important addition to the e1istin* critical realist literature+ :temmin* from the work of the ;ritical realism in action *roup z, it is an e1ercise in practical or applied critical realism (henceforth a;r$+8 Roy Bhaskar, 79oreward+8 Studying 7rgani,ations =sing !ritical Realism) ( &ractical 2uide+ "aul V+ dwards, 6oe / !ahoney, and :te0e |incent, editors+ /1ford, n*land, and 4ew >orkC /1ford ni0ersity "ress+ )%'+ "a*e 0+x
 
critical realists/ in these and other areas/ are *uite diverse. 
%+ ialectical metaRealism £ (9rench, le m‘taR‘alisme ialecti.ue as pronounced in this !"# audio file‚ Werman, dialektischen !etaRealismus as pronounced in this !"# audio file‚ :panish, metaRealismo ial‘ctico as pronounced in this !"# audio file‚ "ortu*ese, metaRealismo ial‘tico as pronounced in this !"# audio file‚ talian, metaRealismo ialettica as pronounced in this !"# audio file‚ Wreek, ¤™œ¥¦¥š §¨¦ œ™©§ª« ialektikU ˜  m‘taRealismo¬xΡ as pronounced in this !"# audio file‚ @rabic, ˆ‰ [ ®[g„ ] ¯ `g ˆ „ [ Z `° ±¯g ˆ‰  [² ]³ ] ¯g, al- adaliyya al-ttilwiyya al-A.i iyya x‚ or Hebrew,
E F µ ¶EF·M NOEFNOqEF ¹M  Iµºµ»F¹ mi ¼ ¼r l-h- !s   iy S iyS h-iy l¼.t   iyx$ or mR£ (!ark @+ 9oster as pronounced in this !"# audio file$C mR is the neo-!ar1ian, Bhaskarian critical realist theoretical focus of #he ar%Foster.#wor%  + +
To briefly illustrate, people do not, *enerally speakin*, 3oin v (@rabic, ½\[ ¾[¿$ :: or :Lin order to identify with an ideolo*y+ "eople 3oin v, relationally, in order to be a part of a community+ Therefore, demireality, as in critical realism,
 
needs to be abandoned+ ;hallen*in* ideolo*ies of oppression, as in critical social theory, is lettin* the tail wa* the do* or puttin* the cart before the horse+ !oreo0er,  (merica first  must be replaced by (merica last + 7But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first8 7!atthew %&C#)+8  0erean Study 0ible+ "ittsbur*h, "ennsyl0aniaC Bible Hub+ )%€+ "a*e #€+x :imilarly, am not anti-sraeli, nor am opposed to any country+ srael already e1ists as a so0erei*n, albeit imperialist, nation, so there is nothin* to ad0ocate+ am pro-Third Aorld and, in particular, pro-"alestinian+
7 "ialectical metaRealism (!"# audio file$, a perspecti0e which was renamed on 6une €th, )%~, applies critical realism, includin* the philosophy of metaReality, to intersectionality (a branch of critical social theory$, to social constructionism, to world- systems analysis, and to the social model of disability+ The phenomenolo*ical methodolo*y used in "ialectical metaRealism  is Heartfulness In*uiry + + n choes of !osmic =nity +/ the ontolo*y (study of bein* or e1istence$ of ialectical metaRealism, reality is illustrated on multiple le0els (be*innin* with elemental cohesion and
endin* with cosmic unity$+ The real structures or mechanisms refer to stepped- down de*rees of :pirit (*enerati0e mechanisms$manifested as Aill (free will$, Aord (perfections$, or ;ause (a*ency or action$+ :ocial construction (emancipatory action in copresence$ is distin*uished from social destruction (action in demireality$+ The present writer pre0iously used other desi*nations for this e0ol0in* perspecti0e, includin* (in chronolo*ical order$ Structural  "ialectics, !onflict !onstructionism,  eocritical Realism, Restructurational  Realism, Reconte1tual Realism, #ransmodern !ritical Realism, "ialectic !onstructionism,  Structuri,ation #heory (not to be confused with @nthony Widdens structuration theory$, mancipatory !onstructionism, and then back to Structuri,ation #heory+
7To pro0ide some conte1t, followin* the +:+ :upreme ;ourt decision to mandate marria*e e.uality or ’same-se1 marria*e“ ()%~$, a national con0ersation be*an o0er whether a bakery could, as a matter of reli*ious conscience, refuse to bake a cake for a Way or Lesbian weddin*+ /n @u*ust &th, )%~, the writer offered, as a strai*ht ’ally,“ a response to a >ouTube 0ideo, 2ay $edding
 
!a%e with !onfederate Flag> 3uestion, ’Bakin* a Way weddin* cake is a simple emancipatory act (social construction$+ /n the other hand, bakin* a cake with a ;onfederate fla* on it pays tribute to a system of human capitalism < sla0ery (social destruction$+ /f course, my comments are ethical, not le*al+“ ialectically absentin*, or remo0in*, heterose1ism (’homophobia“$ is preparin* society for the emancipation of the W: (*ender-and-se1ual-di0ersity$ community (absentin* the absence$+
7:imilarly, the easy a0ailability of *uns in the +:+, while perhaps an issue deser0in* of some debate, does not, in my opinion, pro0ide a sufficient e1planation for the hi*h rate of mass shootin*s in that country+ @merican historican 9rederick 6ackson Turner wrote, ’z would like to mentionx the importance of the frontier, z as a military trainin* school, keepin* ali0e the power of resistance to a**ression, and de0elopin* the stalwart and ru**ed .ualities of the frontiersman+“ @ dialectic between ad0anced capitalism and ru**ed indi0idualism has produced an indi0idual, primarily white and male, who is, at once, alienated from nature, culturally conser0ati0e, and conspiracy-minded+ !uch
 
as darkness is the absence of li*ht, the demireality of alienation mi*ht be concei0ed as an absence of metaReality+ That absence can only be absented, or contradicted, by li0in* in copresence, duality, the *round state, or the cosmic en0elope+
7/ne of the ma3or characteristics of @utism :pectrum isorder (@:$ is a compromised ’theory of mind“ or ability to empathi2e with others and their mental states+ This condition of neurolo*ically mediated alienation can be absented by, epistemolo*ically, shiftin* the center, or focus, of one s thinkin* from 0arious forms of domination, includin* capitalism and 4eurelitism£ (neurolo*ical elitism$, to the oppressed and the subaltern (the mar*inali2ed or ’the othered“$+ /ntolo*ically, the @utist can mo0e from the demireality or intersectionality of disunity in difference to the copresence of unity in difference.
7ialectical metaRealism supports shiftin* the center, usin* intersectionality, from imperialism to the uprisin*s of the subaltern (the mar*inali2ed or the 7othered8$+ The 0ision of ialectical metaRealism is framed by aspects of impossibilism (!"# audio file$, or antireformism, and spontaneism (!"#
 
audio file$ which are accepted within some tendencies of Lu1embur*ism, autonomism, and Trotskyism+ @lthou*h this writer is not a member of any political or*ani2ation, he appreciates many of the 0iews held by :olidarity, a multi-tendency mo0ement which arose out of Trotskyism, and by 9reedom Road :ocialist /r*ani2ation (left refoundation$, rooted in !aoism+ The world- system (or ’world order“$ is seen as pro*ressin* throu*h fi0e re0olutionary sta*es (the dialectics or contradictions of capitalism, indi0idualist anarchism, rebuildin* from the bottom up, *lobal state- centric socialism, and a locally centered communist new world order$+ Therefore, the end result (the dialectical synthesis or unity of the contradictions$ is e1pected to be a world-system based upon *rassroots stateless socialism (or communism$, includin* municipally administered or*ani2ations for financial redistribution and political localism+ The ob0ious phonetic similarity between ialectical metaRealism and dialectical materialism is certainly strikin*+
7Roy Bhaskar was, by his own admission, a moral realist+ He *rounded this perspecti0e in an inno0ati0e ethical naturalism or ontolo*y of ’natural law+“ "erhaps the
 
present writer s personal standpoint on morality or ethics can, at least to some e1tent, be attributed, at least on face 0alue, to a matter of semantic or terminolo*ical preference+ @ positional response, or ca0eat, to Bhaskar s 0iew would distin*uish between the ac.uisition of 0irtues or attributes from a stratified hi*her and human nature, on the one hand, and the actuality, historicity, or relati0e reality of sociocultural 0alues and norms, on the other+ Thus, one may, in this conte1t, refer to a dialectic between the metaReality of 0irtues and the actuality of 0alues+
 
ethics, should be carefully distin*uised from the actuality and the subordinate epistemolo*ical relati0ity (or empiricism$ of concrete social and historical e1perience+
7ialectical metaRealism also accepts the criti.ue, by critical realists in the theolo*y- and-science dialo*ue, of na?0e realism, includin* both reli*ious literalism, and scientism or Humean empiricism+ 9rom a na?0e realist standpoint, reality is immediately a0ailable to the empirical obser0er+ /n the other hand critical realists in the theolo*y-and-science dialo*ue, borrowin* from empistemolo*ical critical realism, ha0e wisely affirmed that human knowled*e is indirect+ ;onse.uently, both scientists (includin* social scientists$ and theolo*ians need to be humble about their claims for knowled*e+ The intellectual posturin* of ;hristian fundamentalism and the 4ew @theism are both re3ected as untenable+8
!ark @+ 9oster, 7@ :hort ssay on ialectical metaRealism+8 #he Institute for  "ialectical metaRealism + + )%€+ pdated and retrie0ed on @pril nd, )%€+x
 
7#he Institute for "ialectical metaRealism+ , a neo-!ar1ian think tank, is the theory, research, and literary a*ency of #he ar%Foster.#wor%  + + :ubstanti0ely, the institute has focused upon clinical sociolo*y (with public sociolo*ists as public intellectuals$, ad0ocacy 3ournalism, history, and reli*ious studies, includin* the Bah” — 9aith, :   Sfism (Tas   awwuf$, "entecostalism, and the sociolo*y of lan*ua*e and reli*ion+ ;ritical realism is applied toC intersectionality (a branch of critical social theory$, social constructionism, world- systems analysis, the social model of disability, community or*ani2in*, left refoundation, and Lu1embur*ism+
7The institute s dialectical unity turn is analo*ous to the late Roy Bhaskar s spiritual  turn+ /ntolo*y (bein*$ in "ialectical metaRealism+  (mR£$ is the realist choes of !osmic =nity + + @ multi-layered enfoldment of eternal, unknowable unities (not  consciousness$ appro1imates Bhaskar s cosmic envelope, metaReality, copresence, nonduality, or *round-state+ mancipatory a*ency is ac.uirin* the attributes (e0ents$ of 0arious unities+
7@ fallibilist  epistemolo*y (e1planation of knowled*e$ is limited to essential attributes and relati0e to human capacities and e1pectations+ !ethodolo*ies are systematic implementations of epistemolo*ies+ The phenomenolo*ical and .ualitati0e human science methodolo*y, freely offered, is  Heartfulness In*uiry + + t resembles heuristic, indi0idual li0ed, inte*ral, mindful, intuiti0e, inte*rated, or*anic, and phenomenolo*ical in.uiries, autoethno*raphy, participant obser0ation, and others+8
!ark @+ 9oster+ #he Institute for "ialectical metaRealism + + )%€+ Retrie0ed on !ay %st, )%€+x
7!editation or ’deepenin*“ is enterin* into a relationship with attributes or .ualities which we can identify by name+ The first chapter of the book will offer some personal su**estions+ "lease introduce your own 0ariations+ /b0iously, each of our needs and re.uirements may differ+ 9ind what works  3ust ri*ht for you+8 !ark @+ 9oster+  Heartfulness In*uiry £+ )%€+ Retrie0ed on 9ebruary }th, )%€+x
choes of ;osmic nity
 
%+ ;/:!; 4T>C The ;ollecti0e ;enter of all bein*s and thin*s is ;osmic nity+
+ !@4;"@T/4C The le0els of emancipation are below+
%+ !7SI! "=!(#I7 C 1traordinary indi0iduals e1press the ;osmic nity in con0ersations with humans+
%+ !osmic nvelopeC These e1traordinary indi0iduals li0e in a cosmic en0elope (unity$
+ !osmic Relative RealityC ach of the e1traordinary indi0iduals is uni.ue+
+  SR6I! C "ersonal and social emancipation is a result of ser0in* others+
 
~+  " 70J!#I6 C The result of human life is emancipation+
€+  Human 1perience 
+  "R(S C The dream state can be a tool for self-disco0ery+
#+
H!@4T>C Human bein*s contain rational (such as thinkin* and free will$, sensory, *rowin*, and cohesi0e characteristics+
%+ !7&RS! C Wroups unite around e1traordinary indi0iduals+
 
another, is dualism or demireality+
#+  R'(#I6 R('I#? C Human bodies include the characteristics of animals, 0e*etables, and minerals+
'+ :4:@T/4C ach animal contains sensory, *rowin*, and cohesi0e characteristics+ They are the animal“s bodily functions (shared by human bein*s$+
~+ WR/ATHC ach 0e*etable contains *rowin* and cohesi0e characteristics+
€+ L!4T@L ;/H:/4C ach mineral contains cohesi0e characteristics+
!ark @+ 9oster+ choes of !osmic =nity + + )%€+ Retrie0ed on 9ebruary }th, )%€+x
+ metaRealism (!er0yn Hartwi* as pronounced in this !"# audio file$C Hartwi*
applies Bhaskarian critical realism, includin* the philosophy of metaReality, to philosophy, anthropolo*y, and sociolo*y+
7z The philosophy of metaRealityx could perhaps better be described as a form of panentheism than of panpsychism z‚ howe0er prefer to call it metaRealism+ !etaRealism acknowled*es the di0ine but does not claim to know what if anythin* lies beyond spacetime and has no alle*iance to any reli*ious tradition+8 !er0yn Hartwi*, 7The "ower of @bsenceC ialectical ;ritical Realism, !etaRealism and Terrence A+ eacon s @ccount of the mer*ence of ntentionality+8 Journal of !ritical Realism+ |olume %, issue , 6anuary )%#+ "a*es %)- '#+x
 
"ower of @bsenceC ialectical ;ritical Realism, !etaRealism and Terrence A+ eacon s @ccount of the mer*ence of ntentionality+8 9ootnote+ Journal of !ritical   Realism+ |olume %, issue , 6anuary )%#+ "a*es %)-'#+x
7z in my 0iew, metaRealism adds an absolute transcendental stratum or spiritual infrastructure to critical realist philosophical ontolo*y+ f Royx Bhaskar sometimes refers to his spiritual turn as ’so-called“ it is because, think, he deemed his philosophy to be always already at least implicitly spiritual+ The fundamental dri0e of the system as a whole is spiritual in the sense of transcendin* dualism and oppositionality, that is, achie0in* union or identity in a total conte1t+8 !er0yn Hartwi*, 7!etaRealism+8 ditorial+ Journal of !ritical Realism+ |olume %', issue ', @u*ust )%~+ "a*es ##&- #'&+x
7z he Roy Bhaskarx wishes to underline, not that "!R philosophy of metaRealityx is not a system of philosophy, which it most certainly is, but that it ’en*a*es as much a polemic a*ainst thou*ht, and the e*o, and the products of thou*ht and the e*o, as it does a*ainst sub3ect<ob3ect duality as such“ and
 
that it is a philosophy of truth rather than of reality, a metaRealism rather than a realism z+8 !er0yn Hartwi* s introduction to Roy Bhaskar+ #he &hilosophy of metaReality) !reativity/ 'ove and Freedom+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%+ Vindle edition+x
7!etaRealism, like critical realism, which it preser0ati0ely sublates, is a philosophy of the transition from capitalist modernity to a eudaimonian future+ t is ar*uably the de0elopmentally necessary ’completion“ of Roy Bhaskar s philosophical system, as an ultimate stratum of identity-in-difference and union (non-duality$ is seen to underlie and sustain the world of non-identity (duality$ that is the focus of ori*inal or basic critical realism (B;R$ and dialectical critical realism (;R$, analo*ously to the interconnectedness of .uantum phenomena and their in*redience in emer*ent le0els of bein*+8 !er0yn Hartwi*, 7!etaRealism+8  International (ssociation for !ritical Realism 4I(!R5+ 4o0ember %&th, )%#+ Retrie0ed on @u*ust #)th, )%~+x
7Ahile metaRealism *oes beyond ori*inal critical realism (;R$ and dialectical critical
 
realism (;R$, ;R ar*uably preser0ati0ely sublates ;R, and metaRealism both presupposes, and is broadly presupposed by ;R, such that the three form a sin*le system, which refer to throu*hout as critical realism+8 !er0yn Hartwi*, 79rom the @natomy of the Wlobal ;risis to the /ntolo*y of Human 9lourishin*+8 ditorial+  Journal of !ritical Realism+ |olume %', issue #, 6une )%~+ "a*es -#+x
#+ meta-Realism (;+ Ra0indran 4ambiar‚ Hind,        , ;a Ra0m   drana 4m   biyra as pronounced in this !"# audio file, or !alayal   am   ,    
, ;a Ra0ndrana 4ampyra$C 4ambiar de0elops Bhaskar s philosophy of metaReality in relation to Lawrence urrell s no0els+
7 am z *rateful to Roy Bhaskar, the renowned philosopher, whose books ha0e been enormously helpful to me in de0elopin* the idea of metarealism+8 ;+ Ra0indran 4ambiar+ Indian etaphysics in 'awrence  "urrell s ovels + 4ewcastle upon Tyne, n*landC ;ambrid*e :cholars "ublishin*+ )%'+ "a*e i1+x
7Roy Bhaskarx, while e1plainin* his theory of metarealism, points out the
 
importance of indi0idual enli*htenment z+ n short, we can say that non-dualism is metarealismz+
7Bhaskar s definition of meta-Realism or !eta-Realism z is nothin* but the ndian 0iew of reality, but without the word metarealism attached to it+8
;+ Ra0indran 4ambiar+ Indian etaphysics in  'awrence "urrell s ovels + 4ewcastle upon Tyne, n*landC ;ambrid*e :cholars "ublishin*+ )%'+ "a*es %'&-%~%+x
'+ philosophical metaRealism (6olyon ;harles Leslie @*ar as pronounced in this !"# audio file$C @*ar e1amines the emancipatory transformation of nature+ Based upon the third .uotation under this headin*, @*ar appears to ha0e had, between ))€ and )%, a chan*e of heart re*ardin* Roy Bhaskar s 7spiritual turn+8
7"hilosophical realism, if it is to *rasp hori2ontal transcendence, must become philosophical metaRealism+ |ia the emancipati0e transformation of nature achie0ed at the le0el of finite-teleolo*ism coupled with the social emancipation heralded by socialism, humanity arri0es at the position where it is liberated from
 
’unfathomed necessity“ z and can ’consciously make history for the first time“ z Here the intrarelationality of penultimate utopia is hi*hli*hted+ /nly under the socialist reconstruction of society when socio- economic causes of alienation or eliminated, when the interrelation of humanity of humanity z has realised its concrete potential, ’can a truly concrete mediation also be*in z with the forces of inor*anic nature“ z+8 6olyon @*ar+ &ost-Secularism/  Realism and =topia) #ranscendence and  Immanence from Hegel to 0loch+ London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%#+ "a*e )~+x
 
7z metaRealism deepens and widens the scope of the rational by positin* spirituality and transcendence as the fundamental constituents of key emancipatory normati0e 0alues that were pre0iously the unchallen*ed domain of secularism+ 1amples of such secularist approaches to critical realism are especially e0ident from the radical left+ Royx Bhaskar s metaRealism endea0ours to re- ac.uant this tradition with its spiritual roots+8 6olyon ;harles Leslie @*ar, 7Ra*in* @*ainst WodC 1aminin* the Radical :ecularism and Humanism of ’4ew @theism+“8 Journal of !ritical Realism+ |olume %%, issue , !arch )%+ "a*es ~- '€+x
~+ structure of meta-Reality (6amie !or*an$C He e1plains metaReality as 7a comple1 totality or fine structure+8
 
7z TH :TR;TR /9 !T@- R@LT> z
79or Bhaskar, meta-Reality is a comple1 totality or fine structure, and copresence is the condition of non-dual states that are in turn an aspect of e0eryday mundane acti0ity (the transcendental identity in listenin* etc$+ The lo*ical implication of the 0ery structure of Bhaskar s totality is, therefore, that access to one s *round state will not only be a focussed intentionality but will make one ma1imally aware of how the self-referential sub3ect is a part of somethin* *reater (throu*h the *round state$+8
6amie !or*an, 7Ahat is meta-Reality•8  Journal of !ritical Realism+ |olume %, issue , !ay ))#+ "a*es %%~-%~€+x
€+ criti.ue of ;ohen s substanti0e thesis (6oly @*ar$C The article presents a Bhaskarian critical realist criti.ue of Werald @+ ;ohen s Base-:uperstructure thesis from within the analytical !ar1ist tradition+
 
assumptions that underpins it+ ;ritical realism, on the other hand, undertakes a criti.ue of ;ohen s substanti0e thesis precisely because of his philosophical premises, and it is to this that we now turn in *reater detail+z
7z To *et causally ade.uate accounts of an e1planandum that we belie0e to ha0e a functional purpose depends precisely on those e1planations of them that ;ohen belie0es to be superfluous to causal e1planation+ The ’why“ e1planations that ;ohen belie0es functional e1planation can deli0er rely on functional elaboration that, he ar*ues, is not part of the deducti0e- nomolo*ical schema+ 9rom a realist perspecti0e, ’how“ e1planations are part of causal e1planation itself rather than somethin* apart from it+ Ae must therefore understand the causal mechanisms at work that brin*about the state of affairs in which the e1planandum is said to be functional+8
 
7 now e1pound in *reater detail one of the z functional e1planatory theses, that which concerns base and superstructure+ The base, it will be recalled, is the sum total of production relations, these bein* relations of economic power o0er labor power and means of production+ The capitalist s control of means of production is an illustration+ @nd the superstructure, we saw, has more than one part‚ e1actly what its parts are is somewhat uncertain, but certainly one bona  fide part of it is the le*al system z+8 W+ @+ ;ohen+ 'ectures on the History of oral and  &olitical &hilosophy+ "rinceton, 4ew 6erseyC "rinceton ni0ersity "ress+ )%'+ "a*e }}+x
+ dialectical critical realism and metaRealism (an !ackie, Wary !acLennan, and 4ick Ailson$C @pplies dialectical critical realism and the philosophy of metaReality to 0arious sub3ects+
 
dialectical uni0ersality+ z xt is throu*h this turn to dialectical critical realism and metaRealism that one can break thou*h the current dialectics of sta*nation+ Throu*h dialectical critical realism and metaRealism one can address the ontolo*ical basis for the unsatisfactory status .uo, that is, one can be*in to unra0el and then restructure the underlyin* master<sla0e relations of oppression and domination that for so lon* ha0e marked ndi*enous and non-ndi*enous relations in @ustralia+ ialectical critical realism and metaRealism, throu*h the concept of the concrete uni0ersal, also enable youn* ndi*enous @ustralians to reco*ni2e their own humanity and uni.ue indi0iduality and also to see themsel0es as stron* and proud members of an ancient people+8 an !ackie and Wary !acLennan, 7The ;risis in ndi*enous :chool @ttendance in @ustraliaC Towards a !etaRealist :olution+8  Journal of !ritical Realism+ |olume %', number+ ', @u*ust )%~+ "a*es #€€-#})+x
 
mpossible•8 Journal of !ritical Realism+ |olume %#, issue #, 6une )%'+ "a*es }€- #)#+x
}+ meta-realist criti.ue ("hilip Tew$C He applies Roy Bhaskar s philosophy of metaReality to literary criticism+
 
Aalter de Wruyter WmbH { ;o+ ))#+ "a*es &-~)+x
 
7z accordin* to Roy Bhaskar z anx orientation of particularity is rooted in a perceptuality that e1tends well beyond the fictional since ’"erspecti0e is ineliminable in dialectic,“ or any fuller understandin*, includin* response to the real (the reality of lan*ua*e reference$+ Therefore, acknowled*ement of particularity (0iewpoint$ in itself cannot foreclose a commitment to ontolo*ical reference as truth, e0en within the act or e0ent of narrati0e e1position, unless ontolo*ical reference is impossible (which would preclude any reference to the ontolo*ical possibilities of lan*ua*e as lan*ua*e$+8 "hilip Tew, 7(Re$-acknowled*in* B+ :+ 6ohnson s Radical Realism, or Re-publishin* ’The nfortunates+“8 !ritical Survey+ |olume %#, number %, ))%+ "a*es #-€%+x
&+ critical inte*rati0e meta-realism (Wary Boyd and |ladimir eman ;yrillic, ÇÈÉÊËÌËÍ ÎÏÌÉÐ, |ladimir eman as pronounced in this !"# audio filex$C The article calls upon professional desi*ners to work as partners for human sur0i0al+
79or a culture to sur0i0e the people who carry it and the animals and plants which carry them, must all sur0i0e to*ether+ 9rom
 
this, you may *ather that our ontolo*y is a methodolo*ically pra*matically chosen one z+ The critical realist ontolo*y at first seemed a *ood candidate but now Royx Bhaskar s z meta-realist ontolo*y commends itself to us by transcendin* possessi0e indi0idualism+z
7z Bhaskar s critical inte*rati0e meta- realism will endure and *row in si*nificance we belie0e+8
Wary Boyd and |ladimir eman, 7esi*nin* cybersystemically for sym0iability+8  9ybernetes+ |olume #€, number &5%), ))+ "a*es %~~-%€~+x
%)+ meta-Realist ndi*enist meta-theory (4eil Hockey$C He focuses upon decoloni2ation+
 
to both *enerali2ed master<sla0e-type (power$ relations and the transformati0e capacity of a*ency (power%$+8 4eil Hockey, 7n*a*in* "ostcolonialismC Towards a ;ritical Realist ndi*enist ;riti.ue of an @pproach by en2in and Lincoln+8 Journal of !ritical Realism+ |olume &, number #, /ctober )%)+ "a*es #~#-#}#+x
%%+ meta-Realist dialectic of liberation (4eil Hockey$C He e1plores the liberation of @bori*inal communities in @ustralia+
7z by drawin* attention to processes of re- enchantin* z and sustainin* the underlyin* unity z of reality, a meta-Realist dialectic of liberation at the least then ’deepens the e1istin* conceptual space of T;R transcendental dialectical critical realismx“ z+8 4eil dward Hockey+ 'earning for  'iberation) 6alues/ (ctions and Structures for   Social #ransformation through (boriginal !ommunities+ "h++ dissertation+ Ñueensland ni0ersity of Technolo*y+ Brisbane, Ñueensland, @ustralia+ ))+ "a*e &+ Retrie0ed on 4o0ember %&th, )%~+x
 
 
!ritical Realism/ nvironmental 'earning and Social-cological !hange+ Lei*h "rice and Heila Lot2-:isitka, editors+ London and 4ew >orkC Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ )%€+ Woo*le "lay edition+x
%#+ underlyin* unities (@lan 4orrie$C He describes Roy Bhaskar s philosophy of metaReality+
 
Hilary Aainwri*ht‚ died %& 4o0ember )%'+8 /bituary+ #he Independent + 4ewspaper+ 6anuary &th, )%~+ Retrie0ed on @pril %th, )%€+x
%'+ non-sensate world and sensate world (:usan 9lorence Verr$C Verr e1plains Roy Bhaskar s 7alethic truth8 as 7the underlyin* process, real essence or the *enerati0e mechanism in the non-sensate world that *i0es rise to an e0ent in the sensate world+8
 
the ’real reason4s5 for ,“ appears to be synonymous with the underlyin* process, real essence or the *enerati0e mechanism in the non-sensate world that *i0es rise to an e0ent in the sensate world z+ n the Bhaskarian 0iew, such a truth is possible due to ontolo*ical stratification, *i0en that causality can only be e1plained in the real+ The *oal of identifyin* powers at e0er- increasin* depth presupposes e1actly the model of scientific pro*ress that he has proposed, althou*h what is now considered to be an alethic truth (a causal mechanism$, counter-intuiti0ely, may turn out not to be ’truth“ *i0en the fallibility of social science z+ This is especially the case *i0en the dynamic nature of much knowled*e z+8 :usan 9lorence Verr+ ( !ritical (nalysis of  ultinational 7il !ompanies !orporate
 Social Responsibility in !olombia and 6ene,uela) #he "ynamics of #wo odels+ "h++ thesis (+:+ n*lish, dissertation$+ epartment of "eace :tudies, ni0ersity of Bradford+ Bradford, n*land+ )%#+ ;reati0e ;ommons+ "a*e %&+x
 
7 wish to offer not only a philosophical criti.ue of the later work of Roy Bhaskar, but also a socio-political criti.ue of it+ That is, intend not only to show lo*ical error in, for e1ample, his ar*ument concernin* reincarnation, but also to show that such ar*ument is dama*in* in the sense of ha0in* ’retro*rade effects“ on the sciences of history, anthropolo*y, sociolo*y, economics, cultural studies and the humanities more *enerally+ t particularly dama*es critical realism+z
7z @lethic truth is ontolo*ical truth and as such we can thus assert that this notion of truth is itself simply a category mista%e+ Truth is inescapably epistemolo*icalby practical and common usa*e definition+ ’Thin*s,“ ’powers,“ ’causal mechanisms“ etc+ are neither true nor false‚ they simply are+ The manners in which we describe, e1plain or identify them, are what is true or false+8
Warry "otter, 7Reopenin* the AouldC @*ainst Wod and Bhaskar+8 Journal of !ritical  Realism+ |olume ~, number %, ))€+ "a*es &-%)&+x
 
thou*hts of *reat scientists+ f Warryx "otter is upset at Royx Bhaskar for talkin* of Wod in realist terms, by what hypocritical standard can he maintain his atheism in realist terms• His !ar1ist materialism may ha0e somethin* to offer to political and economic thou*ht, but it is antithetical to the foundations of classical physics, relati0ity and .uantum theory+8 6ohn :pencer, 7efendin* Realism+8 Journal of !ritical  Realism+ |olume €, number %, ))+ "a*es %€-%'+x
%€+ relational-processual orientation (Lei*h "rice$C @ Bhaskarian critical realist approach to en0ironmental education is de0eloped+
 
7z in this thesis, ha0e used Royx Bhaskar s e1planatory criti.ue, interpreted within a ;@ critical discourse analysisx framework, to arri0e at a set of tentati0e recommendations for ethical en0ironmental education pra1is in business and industry+ n so doin*, hope to ha0e made a contribution to the relational-processual approaches to educational theory z+ :ince, as ha0e ar*ued in this thesis, educational processes and mana*ement processes in business and industry are closely related, this work could also be seen as a contribution to mana*ement theory z+8 Lei*h "rice+ ( #ransdisciplinary  1planatory !riti*ue of nvironmental  ducation) 0usiness and Industry+ "h++ thesis (+:+ n*lish, dissertation$+ Rhodes ni0ersity+ Wrahamstown, :outh @frica+ @pril %)th, ))+ "a*e €)+x
%+ morpho*enetic approach as pronounced in this !"# audio file (!ar*aret :cotford 7!a**ie8 @rcher$C @ccordin* to @rcher, a British sociolo*ist and cofounder (with Roy Bhaskar$ of critical realism, people shape society+ They are then shaped by it+ @rcher discusses lisionism (the interdependence of the indi0idual and society$ and mergentism  (the structure, or social rules, and a*ency, or
social action, which emer*e from social reality$+
7z the new terms in which ’structure and a*ency“ were re-conceptuali2ed and linked to*ether were z represented by two standpoints, thus openin* up a new debate be*innin* in the late se0enties %&)sx or eartly ei*hties %&})sx+ These ha0e termed ’lisionism“ (because transcendin* the dualism between indi0idual and society consisted in replacin* it by an insistence upon their mutual constitution$, and ’mer*entism“ (because structure and a*ency are both re*arded as emer*ent strata of social reality and linka*e consists in e1aminin* their interplay$+8 !ar*aret :+ @rcher+ Realist Social #heory) #he  orphogenetic (pproach+ ;ambrid*e, VC ;ambrid*e ni0ersity "ress+ %&&~+ "a*es ~&- €)+x
7z we the authorsx are all associated with the political left, the economic or !ar1ian left particularly+8 !ar*aret :+ @rcher, @ndrew ;ollier, and ou*las |+ "orpora+ #ranscendence) !ritical Realism and 2od + London and 4ew >orkC Routled*e imprint of  Taylor { 9rancis Wroup, an informa business+ ))'+ Vindle edition+x
 
7z the e1amination of social mo0ements, of communal e1periments, and of new forms of collecti0e reciprocity is needed to complete the morpho*enetic framework+8 !ar*aret :+ @rcher, 7The Tra3ectory of the !orpho*enetic @pproachC @n account in the first-person+8 Sociologia/ &roblemas e  &r@ticas+ 4umber ~', ))+ "a*es #~-'+x
 
nstead, the book deals with ’social morpho*enesis“ as a process rather than an end product+ ;learly, this process does not necessarily *enerate macroscopic social transformation because it has been with us for centuries, althou*h always, until now, in counterbalance with morphostatic mechanisms+ Ahilst we will certainly .uestion the 3ustifiability of thinkin* and theorisin* about !orpho*enic :ociety, ne0ertheless, the .uestion mark remains throu*hout+8 !ar*aret :+ @rcher, 7:ocial !orpho*enesis and the "rospects of !orpho*enic :ociety+8 @bstract+ Social  orphogenesis+ !ar*aret :+ @rcher, editor+ 4ew >orkC :prin*er :cienceŸBusiness !edia+ )%#+ "a*e %+x
 
human intentions, and the return of the conse.uences of that escape as causal influences upon human action, is a chronic feature of social life+“ Ahere they differ profoundly is in how they conceptuali2e it, and how, on that basis, they theori2e about the structurin* (and re-structurin*$ of social systems+8 !ar*aret :+ @rcher, 7!orpho*enesis 0ersus structurationC on combinin* structure and action+8 #he 0ritish  Journal of Soc