The Failure of Roy Bhaskar's Explanatory Critique |
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Authors: | William Hannegan |
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Institution: | Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA |
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Abstract: | According to Roy Bhaskar, social science can derive values from social facts by a process called “explanatory critique.” Bhaskar offers two different versions of explanatory critique: a belief-based version and a need-based version. Both versions are faced with a difficult objection. They seem either to employ an invalid inference or to assume the values that they are attempting to derive. I argue that at least the need-based version of Bhaskar's explanatory critique falls to the objection, and that the belief-based version on its own is insufficient. Bhaskar anticipates the objection and offers a defense. I show that his defense is unsuccessful. I also suggest a Baskar-inspired alternative explanatory critique. |
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Keywords: | critical realism explanatory critique facts values |
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