Critical Realism

The Key Tenets of Critical Realism

In sociology and social theory, a major concern centres on how human agency (the capacity to exercise choice, motive, intention and creative reflection) engages with social structure (objective, enduring social patterns of behaviour often governed by social rules, prescriptions and norms). Essentially, the question concerns how much freedom actors possess and to what degree society constrains their behaviour. Different theories have tilted towards or emphasized one of the two polarities in their attempt to explain social life. Anthony Giddens, for example, in his theory of structuration, has argued against an over-socialized model of the person, suggesting that actors are not ‘cultural dopes' but rather creative engineers of self and narrative in a changing world of reflexive opportunity. Pierre Bourdieu, alternatively, can be seen as taking a different stance, one emphasizing how outward structure shapes human consciousness and everyday, taken-for-granted action, even though actors can reflect on their options and make virtuosic interventions within circumscribed fields.

In contrast to these theorists, Roy Bhaskar, a leading thinker behind critical realism, has argued that actors shape their social worlds but, in turn, are constrained by social structures embedded in the fabric of social life. However, it is the nature of these structures that takes on a particular purchase in critical realism. In order to grasp the significance of social structure in critical realist philosophizing, we must turn to Bhaskar's view of the social world. His ontological conceptualization comprises three levels of reality, namely, (1) the empirical level, (2) the actual level and (3) the causal level. The first is reflected in what we experience through our senses. We hear discordant themes in a piece of classical music eventually leading to a climax of resolution. We see a broad vista appear before us out of the mist. We taste a much anticipated, fortifying meal. Such are examples of the empirical engagement with reality through the senses.

By way of contrast, the actual level of reality is what happens regardless of our engagement with it. Hence, events occur beyond one's sensory experience. The fact that a person cannot hear a concert taking place in a far away location does not mean that it has not occurred. One's range of sensory experience is truncated and restricted by spatial and temporal contexts, yet there is still an awareness that others are ‘going about their business' and life continues in ‘far away fields'. Reality does not have to be experienced by everyone for it to have ontological substance.

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