Online research in philosophy

This unique collection of studies, based for the most part on transcripts of talks in India, Europe and America over the last five years, covers the period in which Roy Bhaskar was developing out of the seeds of the most radical phase of critical realism, his new philosophy of meta-Reality. Because of the spontaneous and informal nature of these talks and discussions, this book provides probably the most immediately accessible introduction to his thought, both for those new to it and those already familiar with it alike.

Introduction -- The commercialisation of science and the construction of the knowledge-based bio-economy -- The KBBE reality--the case of agriculture -- Intellectual property rights and the global commodification of knowledge -- Privatizing Chinese science : national development vs. neoliberal financialization -- Critical realism and the importance of ontological attention -- Critical realism and beyond in economics -- The realist transcendental argument.

This piece outlines the opportunities and obstacles to the appli- cation of critical realism to the study of the self. Based on a recent seminar on the subject, the paper discusses a number of diverse approaches to the application of critical realism to selfhood, identity and psychology. It is argued that for the social sciences, the political dangers of essentialism in studying the self require clear explication of how critical realist approaches do not necessarily lead to reductionism or determinism.

In his most audacious and radical book to date, Bhaskar develops his existing philosophy of dialectical critical realism into a philosophy of and for universal self-realization (which he also terms a transcendental critical realism). In a general theoretical introduction, Bhaskar establishes the existence of God as the fundamental categorical structure of the world and unconditional love as the cement of the universe. This system of thought is followed by a narrative novella designed to render plausible the ideas of reincarnation, karma and moksha, or liberation, and to support an ethic of engaged but unattached activity in the world.

Critical realism, especially as developed by Roy Bhaskar, embodies at its heart systemic and holistic concepts such as totality, emergence, open systems, stratification, autopoiesis and holistic causality. These concepts have their own long history of development in disciplines such as systems thinking and cybernetics, but there is an absence in Bhaskar’s writings, and that absence is a lack of any reference to the corresponding systems literature. The purpose of this paper is threefold: (i) to demonstrate the extent of this correspondence; (ii) to show that critical realism can benefit from an exposure to these other discourses; and (iii) to show that systems thinking too can gain philosophically from critical realism.

At the heart of contemporary relativism, is the idea that the world has no mind-independent characteristics. As there is no way that the world is on its own, any opinions held may be regarded as valid. Critical realism is a promising alternative to such a position. Critical realism allows for the conclusion that certain processes lead to specific outcomes regardless of how we think about them, which in turn places a limited but crucial check on relativism. Groff defends "realism about causality" through close discussions of Kant, Hilary Putnam, Brain Ellis and Charles Taylor, among others. In so doing she affirms critical realism, but with several important qualifications. In particular, she rejects the theory of truth advanced by Roy Bhaskar. She also attempts to both clarify and correct earlier critical realist attempts to apply realism about causality to the social sciences. By connecting issues in metaphysics and philosophy of science to the problem of relativism, Groff bridges the gap betweenthe philosophical literature and broader debates surrounding socio-political theory and poststructuralist thought. This unique approach will make the book of interest to philosophers and socio-political theorists alike.

Bhaskar's "Spiritual turn" : logical and conceptual problems -- Meta-reality, critical realism, and Marxism -- Secularism, agnosticism, and theism -- Critical realism, transcendence, and God -- Humanism, spiritualism, and critical theory.

This is a reply to R. P. Datta, J. Frauley and F. Pearce, ‘Situation critical: for a critical, reflexive, realist, emancipatory social science’ (Journal of Critical Realism 9(2) 2010: 229–48), which responded to my critique in ‘“Orthodox critical realism” and the critical realist embrace’ (Journal of Critical Realism 8(3): 233–57) of J. Frauley and F. Pearce, eds, Critical Realism and the Social Sciences: Heterodox Elaborations (Toronto: University of Toronto Press).