From btarpley at sfasu.edu Mon Nov 2 09:16:10 2009 From: btarpley at sfasu.edu (Bryan Tarpley) Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 10:16:10 -0600 Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature Message-ID: <56b3b1f80911020816v7695b3aaic7b5dcd435557690@mail.gmail.com> I'm happy to report that, after presenting a paper at the South Central MLA conference in Baton Rouge this weekend calling for a breaking-in of Critical Realism for literature, I generated much interest in how CR might impact literary theory. I referenced Fairclough, Jessop, and Sayer's 2001 article "Critical Realism and Semiosis," among other things. I know that CR has always touted itself as a response to postmodernism, but does anyone know of any other potential intersections between CR and literary theory? Cheers, Bryan Tarpley -- Bryan Tarpley Stephen F. Austin State University 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu From rgroff at slu.edu Mon Nov 2 11:01:51 2009 From: rgroff at slu.edu (Ruth Groff) Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 12:01:51 -0600 Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature In-Reply-To: <56b3b1f80911020816v7695b3aaic7b5dcd435557690@mail.gmail.com> References: <56b3b1f80911020816v7695b3aaic7b5dcd435557690@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6ad241360911021001j185909byf4c2a4059bff1cbb@mail.gmail.com> Hi Bryan, One person you might even want to contact off-list is Tobin Nellhous. Also, congrats! r. On Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 10:16 AM, Bryan Tarpley wrote: > I'm happy to report that, after presenting a paper at the South Central MLA > conference in Baton Rouge this weekend calling for a breaking-in of > Critical > Realism for literature, I generated much interest in how CR might impact > literary theory. I referenced Fairclough, Jessop, and Sayer's 2001 article > "Critical Realism and Semiosis," among other things. I know that CR has > always touted itself as a response to postmodernism, but does anyone know > of > any other potential intersections between CR and literary theory? > > Cheers, > Bryan Tarpley > > -- > Bryan Tarpley > Stephen F. Austin State University > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > From ianverstegen at yahoo.com Mon Nov 2 11:26:29 2009 From: ianverstegen at yahoo.com (Ian Verstegen) Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 10:26:29 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature In-Reply-To: <6ad241360911021001j185909byf4c2a4059bff1cbb@mail.gmail.com> References: <56b3b1f80911020816v7695b3aaic7b5dcd435557690@mail.gmail.com> <6ad241360911021001j185909byf4c2a4059bff1cbb@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <184844.58618.qm@web56103.mail.re3.yahoo.com> Hi Brian, I would add the interesting work of Christopher Norris. He spoke at the second to last IACR meeting, although I wasn't there and don't know what he discussed. He has a generally critically realist outlook and has written most recently on the philosophy of science and epistemology. His early work, including a long-standing defense of Derrida as enlightenment thinker, is literary based and has not really been engaged by CR thinkers. Ian Verstegen http://ianverstegen.googlepages.com ________________________________ From: Ruth Groff To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List Sent: Mon, November 2, 2009 1:01:51 PM Subject: Re: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature Hi Bryan, One person you might even want to contact off-list is Tobin Nellhous. Also, congrats! r. On Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 10:16 AM, Bryan Tarpley wrote: > I'm happy to report that, after presenting a paper at the South Central MLA > conference in Baton Rouge this weekend calling for a breaking-in of > Critical > Realism for literature, I generated much interest in how CR might impact > literary theory. I referenced Fairclough, Jessop, and Sayer's 2001 article > "Critical Realism and Semiosis," among other things. I know that CR has > always touted itself as a response to postmodernism, but does anyone know > of > any other potential intersections between CR and literary theory? > > Cheers, > Bryan Tarpley > > -- > Bryan Tarpley > Stephen F. Austin State University > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > _______________________________________________ Critical-Realism mailing list Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism From nellhaus at mail.com Mon Nov 2 16:58:59 2009 From: nellhaus at mail.com (Tobin Nellhaus) Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 18:58:59 -0500 Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature In-Reply-To: <56b3b1f80911020816v7695b3aaic7b5dcd435557690@mail.gmail.com> References: <56b3b1f80911020816v7695b3aaic7b5dcd435557690@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Hi Bryan, That's great to hear. You might take a look at my "Signs, Social Ontology, and Critical Realism," Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 28.1 (1998): 1-24. It's primarily on semiotics and its implications for theories of social ontology, but might be of some interest. You can track down my other articles through the usual literary databases, and I have some entries in the Dictionary of CR. I've just submitted the final manuscript for a book on theater and CR; the primary issue there is explanatory rather than interpretive, but in any case the book should be out next summer or early fall. There's an article by P. A. Lewis, "Metaphor and Critical Realism," Review of Social Economy 54.4 (1996): 487-506. I think there's more floating around if you go digging. Some of what's out there is more like ideology critique than literary analysis, but worth checking out. Cheers, Tobin ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bryan Tarpley" To: "Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List" Sent: Monday, November 02, 2009 11:16 AM Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > I'm happy to report that, after presenting a paper at the South Central > MLA > conference in Baton Rouge this weekend calling for a breaking-in of > Critical > Realism for literature, I generated much interest in how CR might impact > literary theory. I referenced Fairclough, Jessop, and Sayer's 2001 > article > "Critical Realism and Semiosis," among other things. I know that CR has > always touted itself as a response to postmodernism, but does anyone know > of > any other potential intersections between CR and literary theory? > > Cheers, > Bryan Tarpley > > -- > Bryan Tarpley > Stephen F. Austin State University > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism From leigh at totalpc.co.zw Mon Nov 2 23:00:15 2009 From: leigh at totalpc.co.zw (Leigh Price) Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 08:00:15 +0200 Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature In-Reply-To: <56b3b1f80911020816v7695b3aaic7b5dcd435557690@mail.gmail.com> References: <56b3b1f80911020816v7695b3aaic7b5dcd435557690@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <6EBC10155C154FCFBEE1C81DC2D70593@leighlaptop> Dear Brian I used a critical realist under-labouring of Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis in my PhD. You can access it at eprints.ru.ac.za/909/01/Price-phd-v1.pdf. I also reviewed a book by Philip Tew called "The Contemporary British Novel" p409 Journal of Critical Realism, Vol 5, No 2 (2006). Tew uses Critical Realism in this book but, unfortunately, it was not a good example of critical realism in action. Nevertheless, it is perhaps useful to see how a too-shallow understanding of critical realism can lead one into hot water. You can find the full text of my review at: http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/JCR/article/viewArticle/1489 Regards, Leigh -----Original Message----- From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Bryan Tarpley Sent: 02 November 2009 18:16 To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature I'm happy to report that, after presenting a paper at the South Central MLA conference in Baton Rouge this weekend calling for a breaking-in of Critical Realism for literature, I generated much interest in how CR might impact literary theory. I referenced Fairclough, Jessop, and Sayer's 2001 article "Critical Realism and Semiosis," among other things. I know that CR has always touted itself as a response to postmodernism, but does anyone know of any other potential intersections between CR and literary theory? Cheers, Bryan Tarpley -- Bryan Tarpley Stephen F. Austin State University 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu _______________________________________________ Critical-Realism mailing list Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism From bptarpley at gmail.com Tue Nov 3 08:13:03 2009 From: bptarpley at gmail.com (Bryan Tarpley) Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 09:13:03 -0600 Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature In-Reply-To: <6EBC10155C154FCFBEE1C81DC2D70593@leighlaptop> References: <56b3b1f80911020816v7695b3aaic7b5dcd435557690@mail.gmail.com> <6EBC10155C154FCFBEE1C81DC2D70593@leighlaptop> Message-ID: <56b3b1f80911030713p4fde173bg278eb201a47e49ef@mail.gmail.com> Ruth, Tobin, Ian, and Leigh: Wow! Thanks for all the pointers. Sounds like I've got my Thanksgiving reading cut out for me! I'm hoping to do my dissertation on the intersection of CR and Lit Theory, so this is all extremely helpful. On a side note, I recently read Ruth's _Critical Realism, Post-positivism and the Possibility of Knowledge_ and greatly enjoyed it. I'd had trouble parsing out exactly what Bhaskar's theory of truth was, and I felt Ruth's treatment (and challenging) of this material was extremely helpful. The insistence that all truth claims are fallible and the reliance on the correspondence theory of truth reminded me of the last few chapters of John Searle's _The Construction of Social Reality_. Has anyone looked at the difference between what Searle preaches and CR? Cheers, Bryan On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 12:00 AM, Leigh Price wrote: > Dear Brian > > I used a critical realist under-labouring of Fairclough's Critical > Discourse > Analysis in my PhD. You can access it at > eprints.ru.ac.za/909/01/Price-phd-v1.pdf. > > I also reviewed a book by Philip Tew called "The Contemporary British > Novel" > p409 Journal of Critical Realism, Vol 5, No 2 (2006). Tew uses Critical > Realism in this book but, unfortunately, it was not a good example of > critical realism in action. Nevertheless, it is perhaps useful to see how a > too-shallow understanding of critical realism can lead one into hot water. > You can find the full text of my review at: > http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/JCR/article/viewArticle/1489 > > Regards, > > Leigh > > -----Original Message----- > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu > [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Bryan > Tarpley > Sent: 02 November 2009 18:16 > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > I'm happy to report that, after presenting a paper at the South Central MLA > conference in Baton Rouge this weekend calling for a breaking-in of > Critical > Realism for literature, I generated much interest in how CR might impact > literary theory. I referenced Fairclough, Jessop, and Sayer's 2001 article > "Critical Realism and Semiosis," among other things. I know that CR has > always touted itself as a response to postmodernism, but does anyone know > of > any other potential intersections between CR and literary theory? > > Cheers, > Bryan Tarpley > > -- > Bryan Tarpley > Stephen F. Austin State University > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > -- Bryan Tarpley Stephen F. Austin State University 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu From louisirwin9 at verizon.net Tue Nov 3 15:33:14 2009 From: louisirwin9 at verizon.net (Louis Irwin) Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:33:14 -0500 Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature In-Reply-To: <56b3b1f80911030713p4fde173bg278eb201a47e49ef@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <0KSK00IXG1BDJ3R9@vms173009.mailsrvcs.net> Bryan, Regarding your question about Searle's "Social Construction of Reality" and its defense of the correspondence theory, I did a quick search of my email attic and found I sent the following as part of a message to the list in 2006. I doubt it answers what you asked, but here it is anyway. There are several bouts of debates on the list about whether CR is or is not committed to the correspondence theory. (My view is that if CT is meant as a theory that explains what truth is, then no. However, if CT merely expresses complex relations between perceptions (or propositions) and what they are about without being able to explain those relations, then yes. Ruth begs to differ.) --Louis Irwin The correspondence theory (CT) has a long and checkered history, but there is an important critique of CT (made by Strawson against Austin in the 50s) that is not anti-realist and should be considered in any argument over CT. I will summarize Searle's exposition (in "The Construction of Social Reality"): According to Strawson "there is an internal relation between facts and true statements and that relation is such that there could not be a genuine relation of correspondence between two independent entities. Our model of a genuine relational statement would be something like Seattle is north of Portland. To find out whether such a relation obtains we might first identify Seattle, then identify Portland, and then see whether they really stand in the relation of the former being north of the latter. But we can't do that with the alleged relation of correspondence between statements and facts, because in order to identify the fact we already have to [identify] the corresponding true statement." Strawson believes that statements of correspondent, such as "Snow is white" corresponds to the fact that snow is white, do not express genuine relations between independent entities in the manner of "Seattle is north of Portland"; rather they express pseudorelation on the order of Sam won a victory. Sally struck a blow. There is not one thing, Sam, that we identify, and another thing, a victory, that we also identify, and then we check to see if Sam stands in the winning relation to the victory. Once we have identified the victory and Sam, there is nothing further to check - Sam's winning is already embedded in the situation details in identifying the victory. Likewise for Sally's blow. Searle's agrees that there is this internal relation between facts and true statements, and that this undermines the relational picture of correspondence described above, but he defends a different picture of CT in a way that links up with his theory of intentionality. In any event, it is important to ponder that statements of correspondence between statements and facts cannot be understood in the manner of ordinary relation statements (like "Seattle is north of Portland"). -----Original Message----- From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Bryan Tarpley Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 10:13 AM To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List Subject: Re: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature Ruth, Tobin, Ian, and Leigh: Wow! Thanks for all the pointers. Sounds like I've got my Thanksgiving reading cut out for me! I'm hoping to do my dissertation on the intersection of CR and Lit Theory, so this is all extremely helpful. On a side note, I recently read Ruth's _Critical Realism, Post-positivism and the Possibility of Knowledge_ and greatly enjoyed it. I'd had trouble parsing out exactly what Bhaskar's theory of truth was, and I felt Ruth's treatment (and challenging) of this material was extremely helpful. The insistence that all truth claims are fallible and the reliance on the correspondence theory of truth reminded me of the last few chapters of John Searle's _The Construction of Social Reality_. Has anyone looked at the difference between what Searle preaches and CR? Cheers, Bryan On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 12:00 AM, Leigh Price wrote: > Dear Brian > > I used a critical realist under-labouring of Fairclough's Critical > Discourse Analysis in my PhD. You can access it at > eprints.ru.ac.za/909/01/Price-phd-v1.pdf. > > I also reviewed a book by Philip Tew called "The Contemporary British > Novel" > p409 Journal of Critical Realism, Vol 5, No 2 (2006). Tew uses > Critical Realism in this book but, unfortunately, it was not a good > example of critical realism in action. Nevertheless, it is perhaps > useful to see how a too-shallow understanding of critical realism can lead one into hot water. > You can find the full text of my review at: > http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/JCR/article/viewArticle/1 > 489 > > Regards, > > Leigh > > -----Original Message----- > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu > [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of > Bryan Tarpley > Sent: 02 November 2009 18:16 > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > I'm happy to report that, after presenting a paper at the South > Central MLA conference in Baton Rouge this weekend calling for a > breaking-in of Critical Realism for literature, I generated much > interest in how CR might impact literary theory. I referenced > Fairclough, Jessop, and Sayer's 2001 article "Critical Realism and > Semiosis," among other things. I know that CR has always touted > itself as a response to postmodernism, but does anyone know of any > other potential intersections between CR and literary theory? > > Cheers, > Bryan Tarpley > > -- > Bryan Tarpley > Stephen F. Austin State University > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > -- Bryan Tarpley Stephen F. Austin State University 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu _______________________________________________ Critical-Realism mailing list Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4569 (20091103) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4570 (20091103) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com From rgroff at slu.edu Tue Nov 3 16:38:40 2009 From: rgroff at slu.edu (Ruth Groff) Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 17:38:40 -0600 Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature In-Reply-To: <0KSK00IXG1BDJ3R9@vms173009.mailsrvcs.net> References: <56b3b1f80911030713p4fde173bg278eb201a47e49ef@mail.gmail.com> <0KSK00IXG1BDJ3R9@vms173009.mailsrvcs.net> Message-ID: <6ad241360911031538o7b1ac31bxfff629e1bb1c0fbe@mail.gmail.com> Louis! Yay! It's always so great when you weigh in! Hope all's well. Thanks so much, Bryan, for the mention. I'm glad you liked the book. I don't know Searle at all, so will have to watch from the sidelines! Warmly, r. On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 4:33 PM, Louis Irwin wrote: > Bryan, > > Regarding your question about Searle's "Social Construction of Reality" and > its defense of the correspondence theory, I did a quick search of my email > attic and found I sent the following as part of a message to the list in > 2006. I doubt it answers what you asked, but here it is anyway. There are > several bouts of debates on the list about whether CR is or is not > committed > to the correspondence theory. (My view is that if CT is meant as a theory > that explains what truth is, then no. However, if CT merely expresses > complex relations between perceptions (or propositions) and what they are > about without being able to explain those relations, then yes. Ruth begs to > differ.) --Louis Irwin > > The correspondence theory (CT) has a long and checkered history, but there > is an important critique of CT (made by Strawson against Austin in the 50s) > that is not anti-realist and should be considered in any argument over CT. > I will summarize Searle's exposition (in "The Construction of Social > Reality"): According to Strawson "there is an internal relation between > facts and true statements and that relation is such that there could not be > a genuine relation of correspondence between two independent entities. Our > model of a genuine relational statement would be something like > > Seattle is north of Portland. > > To find out whether such a relation obtains we might first identify > Seattle, > then identify Portland, and then see whether they really stand in the > relation of the former being north of the latter. But we can't do that > with > the alleged relation of correspondence between statements and facts, > because > in order to identify the fact we already have to [identify] the > corresponding true statement." Strawson believes that statements of > correspondent, such as > > "Snow is white" corresponds to the fact that snow is white, > > do not express genuine relations between independent entities in the manner > of "Seattle is north of Portland"; rather they express pseudorelation on > the > order of > > Sam won a victory. > Sally struck a blow. > > There is not one thing, Sam, that we identify, and another thing, a > victory, > that we also identify, and then we check to see if Sam stands in the > winning > relation to the victory. Once we have identified the victory and Sam, > there > is nothing further to check - Sam's winning is already embedded in the > situation details in identifying the victory. Likewise for Sally's blow. > Searle's agrees that there is this internal relation between facts and true > statements, and that this undermines the relational picture of > correspondence described above, but he defends a different picture of CT in > a way that links up with his theory of intentionality. In any event, it is > important to ponder that statements of correspondence between statements > and > facts cannot be understood in the manner of ordinary relation statements > (like "Seattle is north of Portland"). > > -----Original Message----- > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu > [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Bryan > Tarpley > Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 10:13 AM > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > Subject: Re: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > Ruth, Tobin, Ian, and Leigh: > > Wow! Thanks for all the pointers. Sounds like I've got my Thanksgiving > reading cut out for me! I'm hoping to do my dissertation on the > intersection of CR and Lit Theory, so this is all extremely helpful. > > On a side note, I recently read Ruth's _Critical Realism, Post-positivism > and the Possibility of Knowledge_ and greatly enjoyed it. I'd had trouble > parsing out exactly what Bhaskar's theory of truth was, and I felt Ruth's > treatment (and challenging) of this material was extremely helpful. The > insistence that all truth claims are fallible and the reliance on the > correspondence theory of truth reminded me of the last few chapters of John > Searle's _The Construction of Social Reality_. Has anyone looked at the > difference between what Searle preaches and CR? > > Cheers, > Bryan > > > On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 12:00 AM, Leigh Price wrote: > > > Dear Brian > > > > I used a critical realist under-labouring of Fairclough's Critical > > Discourse Analysis in my PhD. You can access it at > > eprints.ru.ac.za/909/01/Price-phd-v1.pdf. > > > > I also reviewed a book by Philip Tew called "The Contemporary British > > Novel" > > p409 Journal of Critical Realism, Vol 5, No 2 (2006). Tew uses > > Critical Realism in this book but, unfortunately, it was not a good > > example of critical realism in action. Nevertheless, it is perhaps > > useful to see how a too-shallow understanding of critical realism can > lead > one into hot water. > > You can find the full text of my review at: > > http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/JCR/article/viewArticle/1 > > 489 > > > > Regards, > > > > Leigh > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu > > [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of > > Bryan Tarpley > > Sent: 02 November 2009 18:16 > > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > > Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > > > I'm happy to report that, after presenting a paper at the South > > Central MLA conference in Baton Rouge this weekend calling for a > > breaking-in of Critical Realism for literature, I generated much > > interest in how CR might impact literary theory. I referenced > > Fairclough, Jessop, and Sayer's 2001 article "Critical Realism and > > Semiosis," among other things. I know that CR has always touted > > itself as a response to postmodernism, but does anyone know of any > > other potential intersections between CR and literary theory? > > > > Cheers, > > Bryan Tarpley > > > > -- > > Bryan Tarpley > > Stephen F. Austin State University > > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > > _______________________________________________ > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > -- > Bryan Tarpley > Stephen F. Austin State University > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature > database 4569 (20091103) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature > database 4570 (20091103) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > http://www.eset.com > > > > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > From bill.hord at hccs.edu Wed Nov 4 07:16:55 2009 From: bill.hord at hccs.edu (bill.hord) Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 08:16:55 -0600 Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature References: <56b3b1f80911030713p4fde173bg278eb201a47e49ef@mail.gmail.com><0KSK00IXG1BDJ3R9@vms173009.mailsrvcs.net> <6ad241360911031538o7b1ac31bxfff629e1bb1c0fbe@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: In discussing Searle, we need to distinguish the 'construction of social reality' (the title of his book, and a view that he not only endorses but which he thinks is the best explanation for the social) from 'social construction of reality' (a position he rejects). Searle bases his theory of social reality on what he takes to be a realistic foundation: the world is there with its properties. This is where he differs from simple social construction views. We use language, which is socially constructed (from non-constructed sounds, e.g.), to make statements about this now constructed and non-constructed world (he distinguishes social facts -- I have $10 in my pocket -- from brute facts -- there is [a piece of paper in my pocket]). Bill Hord "Liminality can best be described as fructile chaos, a storehouse of possibilities, not a random assemblage but a striving after new forms and structures, a gestation process, a fetation of modes appropriate to postliminal experience." (V. Turner) -----Original Message----- From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu on behalf of Ruth Groff Sent: Tue 11/3/2009 5:38 PM To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List Subject: Re: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature Louis! Yay! It's always so great when you weigh in! Hope all's well. Thanks so much, Bryan, for the mention. I'm glad you liked the book. I don't know Searle at all, so will have to watch from the sidelines! Warmly, r. On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 4:33 PM, Louis Irwin wrote: > Bryan, > > Regarding your question about Searle's "Social Construction of Reality" and > its defense of the correspondence theory, I did a quick search of my email > attic and found I sent the following as part of a message to the list in > 2006. I doubt it answers what you asked, but here it is anyway. There are > several bouts of debates on the list about whether CR is or is not > committed > to the correspondence theory. (My view is that if CT is meant as a theory > that explains what truth is, then no. However, if CT merely expresses > complex relations between perceptions (or propositions) and what they are > about without being able to explain those relations, then yes. Ruth begs to > differ.) --Louis Irwin > > The correspondence theory (CT) has a long and checkered history, but there > is an important critique of CT (made by Strawson against Austin in the 50s) > that is not anti-realist and should be considered in any argument over CT. > I will summarize Searle's exposition (in "The Construction of Social > Reality"): According to Strawson "there is an internal relation between > facts and true statements and that relation is such that there could not be > a genuine relation of correspondence between two independent entities. Our > model of a genuine relational statement would be something like > > Seattle is north of Portland. > > To find out whether such a relation obtains we might first identify > Seattle, > then identify Portland, and then see whether they really stand in the > relation of the former being north of the latter. But we can't do that > with > the alleged relation of correspondence between statements and facts, > because > in order to identify the fact we already have to [identify] the > corresponding true statement." Strawson believes that statements of > correspondent, such as > > "Snow is white" corresponds to the fact that snow is white, > > do not express genuine relations between independent entities in the manner > of "Seattle is north of Portland"; rather they express pseudorelation on > the > order of > > Sam won a victory. > Sally struck a blow. > > There is not one thing, Sam, that we identify, and another thing, a > victory, > that we also identify, and then we check to see if Sam stands in the > winning > relation to the victory. Once we have identified the victory and Sam, > there > is nothing further to check - Sam's winning is already embedded in the > situation details in identifying the victory. Likewise for Sally's blow. > Searle's agrees that there is this internal relation between facts and true > statements, and that this undermines the relational picture of > correspondence described above, but he defends a different picture of CT in > a way that links up with his theory of intentionality. In any event, it is > important to ponder that statements of correspondence between statements > and > facts cannot be understood in the manner of ordinary relation statements > (like "Seattle is north of Portland"). > > -----Original Message----- > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu > [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Bryan > Tarpley > Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 10:13 AM > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > Subject: Re: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > Ruth, Tobin, Ian, and Leigh: > > Wow! Thanks for all the pointers. Sounds like I've got my Thanksgiving > reading cut out for me! I'm hoping to do my dissertation on the > intersection of CR and Lit Theory, so this is all extremely helpful. > > On a side note, I recently read Ruth's _Critical Realism, Post-positivism > and the Possibility of Knowledge_ and greatly enjoyed it. I'd had trouble > parsing out exactly what Bhaskar's theory of truth was, and I felt Ruth's > treatment (and challenging) of this material was extremely helpful. The > insistence that all truth claims are fallible and the reliance on the > correspondence theory of truth reminded me of the last few chapters of John > Searle's _The Construction of Social Reality_. Has anyone looked at the > difference between what Searle preaches and CR? > > Cheers, > Bryan > > > On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 12:00 AM, Leigh Price wrote: > > > Dear Brian > > > > I used a critical realist under-labouring of Fairclough's Critical > > Discourse Analysis in my PhD. You can access it at > > eprints.ru.ac.za/909/01/Price-phd-v1.pdf. > > > > I also reviewed a book by Philip Tew called "The Contemporary British > > Novel" > > p409 Journal of Critical Realism, Vol 5, No 2 (2006). Tew uses > > Critical Realism in this book but, unfortunately, it was not a good > > example of critical realism in action. Nevertheless, it is perhaps > > useful to see how a too-shallow understanding of critical realism can > lead > one into hot water. > > You can find the full text of my review at: > > http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/JCR/article/viewArticle/1 > > 489 > > > > Regards, > > > > Leigh > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu > > [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of > > Bryan Tarpley > > Sent: 02 November 2009 18:16 > > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > > Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > > > I'm happy to report that, after presenting a paper at the South > > Central MLA conference in Baton Rouge this weekend calling for a > > breaking-in of Critical Realism for literature, I generated much > > interest in how CR might impact literary theory. I referenced > > Fairclough, Jessop, and Sayer's 2001 article "Critical Realism and > > Semiosis," among other things. I know that CR has always touted > > itself as a response to postmodernism, but does anyone know of any > > other potential intersections between CR and literary theory? > > > > Cheers, > > Bryan Tarpley > > > > -- > > Bryan Tarpley > > Stephen F. Austin State University > > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > > _______________________________________________ > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > -- > Bryan Tarpley > Stephen F. Austin State University > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature > database 4569 (20091103) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature > database 4570 (20091103) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > http://www.eset.com > > > > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > _______________________________________________ Critical-Realism mailing list Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism From bptarpley at gmail.com Wed Nov 4 09:38:28 2009 From: bptarpley at gmail.com (Bryan Tarpley) Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 10:38:28 -0600 Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature In-Reply-To: References: <56b3b1f80911030713p4fde173bg278eb201a47e49ef@mail.gmail.com> <0KSK00IXG1BDJ3R9@vms173009.mailsrvcs.net> <6ad241360911031538o7b1ac31bxfff629e1bb1c0fbe@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: <56b3b1f80911040838h791e68aeoa3fb36eab0560859@mail.gmail.com> Yes! Which is why I really like Searle, and why I think his ideas, if not explicitly informed by CR, are very compatible with them. I would also note that Searle emphasizes over and over again that the mind/body, reality/social dualisms are false dichotomies, and are more like levels of stratification. This resonates with Bhaskar's more recent work on meta-Reality--his main tenet being that all dualisms are (efficacious) illusions. -Bryan On Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 8:16 AM, bill.hord wrote: > In discussing Searle, we need to distinguish the 'construction of social > reality' (the title of his book, and a view that he not only endorses but > which he thinks is the best explanation for the social) from 'social > construction of reality' (a position he rejects). Searle bases his theory of > social reality on what he takes to be a realistic foundation: the world is > there with its properties. This is where he differs from simple social > construction views. > > We use language, which is socially constructed (from non-constructed > sounds, e.g.), to make statements about this now constructed and > non-constructed world (he distinguishes social facts -- I have $10 in my > pocket -- from brute facts -- there is [a piece of paper in my pocket]). > > Bill Hord > > "Liminality can best be described as fructile chaos, a storehouse of > possibilities, not a random assemblage but a striving after new forms and > structures, a gestation process, a fetation of modes appropriate to > postliminal experience." (V. Turner) > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu on behalf of Ruth Groff > Sent: Tue 11/3/2009 5:38 PM > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > Subject: Re: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > Louis! Yay! It's always so great when you weigh in! Hope all's well. > > Thanks so much, Bryan, for the mention. I'm glad you liked the book. I > don't know Searle at all, so will have to watch from the sidelines! > > Warmly, > r. > > > > On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 4:33 PM, Louis Irwin > wrote: > > > Bryan, > > > > Regarding your question about Searle's "Social Construction of Reality" > and > > its defense of the correspondence theory, I did a quick search of my > email > > attic and found I sent the following as part of a message to the list in > > 2006. I doubt it answers what you asked, but here it is anyway. There are > > several bouts of debates on the list about whether CR is or is not > > committed > > to the correspondence theory. (My view is that if CT is meant as a theory > > that explains what truth is, then no. However, if CT merely expresses > > complex relations between perceptions (or propositions) and what they are > > about without being able to explain those relations, then yes. Ruth begs > to > > differ.) --Louis Irwin > > > > The correspondence theory (CT) has a long and checkered history, but > there > > is an important critique of CT (made by Strawson against Austin in the > 50s) > > that is not anti-realist and should be considered in any argument over > CT. > > I will summarize Searle's exposition (in "The Construction of Social > > Reality"): According to Strawson "there is an internal relation between > > facts and true statements and that relation is such that there could not > be > > a genuine relation of correspondence between two independent entities. > Our > > model of a genuine relational statement would be something like > > > > Seattle is north of Portland. > > > > To find out whether such a relation obtains we might first identify > > Seattle, > > then identify Portland, and then see whether they really stand in the > > relation of the former being north of the latter. But we can't do that > > with > > the alleged relation of correspondence between statements and facts, > > because > > in order to identify the fact we already have to [identify] the > > corresponding true statement." Strawson believes that statements of > > correspondent, such as > > > > "Snow is white" corresponds to the fact that snow is white, > > > > do not express genuine relations between independent entities in the > manner > > of "Seattle is north of Portland"; rather they express pseudorelation on > > the > > order of > > > > Sam won a victory. > > Sally struck a blow. > > > > There is not one thing, Sam, that we identify, and another thing, a > > victory, > > that we also identify, and then we check to see if Sam stands in the > > winning > > relation to the victory. Once we have identified the victory and Sam, > > there > > is nothing further to check - Sam's winning is already embedded in the > > situation details in identifying the victory. Likewise for Sally's blow. > > Searle's agrees that there is this internal relation between facts and > true > > statements, and that this undermines the relational picture of > > correspondence described above, but he defends a different picture of CT > in > > a way that links up with his theory of intentionality. In any event, it > is > > important to ponder that statements of correspondence between statements > > and > > facts cannot be understood in the manner of ordinary relation statements > > (like "Seattle is north of Portland"). > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu > > [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Bryan > > Tarpley > > Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 10:13 AM > > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > > Subject: Re: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > > > Ruth, Tobin, Ian, and Leigh: > > > > Wow! Thanks for all the pointers. Sounds like I've got my Thanksgiving > > reading cut out for me! I'm hoping to do my dissertation on the > > intersection of CR and Lit Theory, so this is all extremely helpful. > > > > On a side note, I recently read Ruth's _Critical Realism, Post-positivism > > and the Possibility of Knowledge_ and greatly enjoyed it. I'd had > trouble > > parsing out exactly what Bhaskar's theory of truth was, and I felt Ruth's > > treatment (and challenging) of this material was extremely helpful. The > > insistence that all truth claims are fallible and the reliance on the > > correspondence theory of truth reminded me of the last few chapters of > John > > Searle's _The Construction of Social Reality_. Has anyone looked at the > > difference between what Searle preaches and CR? > > > > Cheers, > > Bryan > > > > > > On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 12:00 AM, Leigh Price > wrote: > > > > > Dear Brian > > > > > > I used a critical realist under-labouring of Fairclough's Critical > > > Discourse Analysis in my PhD. You can access it at > > > eprints.ru.ac.za/909/01/Price-phd-v1.pdf. > > > > > > I also reviewed a book by Philip Tew called "The Contemporary British > > > Novel" > > > p409 Journal of Critical Realism, Vol 5, No 2 (2006). Tew uses > > > Critical Realism in this book but, unfortunately, it was not a good > > > example of critical realism in action. Nevertheless, it is perhaps > > > useful to see how a too-shallow understanding of critical realism can > > lead > > one into hot water. > > > You can find the full text of my review at: > > > http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/JCR/article/viewArticle/1 > > > 489 > > > > > > Regards, > > > > > > Leigh > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of > > > Bryan Tarpley > > > Sent: 02 November 2009 18:16 > > > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > > > Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > > > > > I'm happy to report that, after presenting a paper at the South > > > Central MLA conference in Baton Rouge this weekend calling for a > > > breaking-in of Critical Realism for literature, I generated much > > > interest in how CR might impact literary theory. I referenced > > > Fairclough, Jessop, and Sayer's 2001 article "Critical Realism and > > > Semiosis," among other things. I know that CR has always touted > > > itself as a response to postmodernism, but does anyone know of any > > > other potential intersections between CR and literary theory? > > > > > > Cheers, > > > Bryan Tarpley > > > > > > -- > > > Bryan Tarpley > > > Stephen F. Austin State University > > > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Bryan Tarpley > > Stephen F. Austin State University > > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > > _______________________________________________ > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > > signature > > database 4569 (20091103) __________ > > > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > > > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > > signature > > database 4570 (20091103) __________ > > > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > -- Bryan Tarpley Stephen F. Austin State University 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu From janesperry at hotmail.co.uk Wed Nov 4 10:21:17 2009 From: janesperry at hotmail.co.uk (Jane Sperry) Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 17:21:17 +0000 Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature In-Reply-To: <56b3b1f80911040838h791e68aeoa3fb36eab0560859@mail.gmail.com> References: <56b3b1f80911030713p4fde173bg278eb201a47e49ef@mail.gmail.com> <0KSK00IXG1BDJ3R9@vms173009.mailsrvcs.net> Message-ID: Hi Bryan Tony Lawson may have written something on CR and Searle. Here is a short excerpt from a recent interview with Lawson speaking: "Actually, I did take up an invitation to visit Searle and his ontology group in Berkeley last summer, for about five weeks. In fact I went twice, because I was also earlier invited by Searle to give a talk at his bi-annual Collective Intentionality Conference, which incidentally also featured Tuomela and Gilbert. It was a very fruitful experience for me. No, I do not see a big conflict in our projects, certainly not between mine and Searle?s. Searle actually thinks that we agree on just about everything. I am not so sure, but he may be right. Certainly we agree on rather a lot. [.....] In terms of our projects we spent a lot of time comparing notes. In fact, I led a seminar contrasting the two projects. The chief difference between us, I believe, is not the positions we sustain, but how we get there [...]. " The whole interview is in: http://ejpe.org/pdf/2-1-int.pdf J > Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 10:38:28 -0600 > From: bptarpley at gmail.com > To: critical-realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > Subject: Re: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > Yes! Which is why I really like Searle, and why I think his ideas, if not > explicitly informed by CR, are very compatible with them. I would also note > that Searle emphasizes over and over again that the mind/body, > reality/social dualisms are false dichotomies, and are more like levels of > stratification. This resonates with Bhaskar's more recent work on > meta-Reality--his main tenet being that all dualisms are (efficacious) > illusions. > > -Bryan > > > On Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 8:16 AM, bill.hord wrote: > > > In discussing Searle, we need to distinguish the 'construction of social > > reality' (the title of his book, and a view that he not only endorses but > > which he thinks is the best explanation for the social) from 'social > > construction of reality' (a position he rejects). Searle bases his theory of > > social reality on what he takes to be a realistic foundation: the world is > > there with its properties. This is where he differs from simple social > > construction views. > > > > We use language, which is socially constructed (from non-constructed > > sounds, e.g.), to make statements about this now constructed and > > non-constructed world (he distinguishes social facts -- I have $10 in my > > pocket -- from brute facts -- there is [a piece of paper in my pocket]). > > > > Bill Hord > > > > "Liminality can best be described as fructile chaos, a storehouse of > > possibilities, not a random assemblage but a striving after new forms and > > structures, a gestation process, a fetation of modes appropriate to > > postliminal experience." (V. Turner) > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu on behalf of Ruth Groff > > Sent: Tue 11/3/2009 5:38 PM > > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > > Subject: Re: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > > > Louis! Yay! It's always so great when you weigh in! Hope all's well. > > > > Thanks so much, Bryan, for the mention. I'm glad you liked the book. I > > don't know Searle at all, so will have to watch from the sidelines! > > > > Warmly, > > r. > > > > > > > > On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 4:33 PM, Louis Irwin > > wrote: > > > > > Bryan, > > > > > > Regarding your question about Searle's "Social Construction of Reality" > > and > > > its defense of the correspondence theory, I did a quick search of my > > email > > > attic and found I sent the following as part of a message to the list in > > > 2006. I doubt it answers what you asked, but here it is anyway. There are > > > several bouts of debates on the list about whether CR is or is not > > > committed > > > to the correspondence theory. (My view is that if CT is meant as a theory > > > that explains what truth is, then no. However, if CT merely expresses > > > complex relations between perceptions (or propositions) and what they are > > > about without being able to explain those relations, then yes. Ruth begs > > to > > > differ.) --Louis Irwin > > > > > > The correspondence theory (CT) has a long and checkered history, but > > there > > > is an important critique of CT (made by Strawson against Austin in the > > 50s) > > > that is not anti-realist and should be considered in any argument over > > CT. > > > I will summarize Searle's exposition (in "The Construction of Social > > > Reality"): According to Strawson "there is an internal relation between > > > facts and true statements and that relation is such that there could not > > be > > > a genuine relation of correspondence between two independent entities. > > Our > > > model of a genuine relational statement would be something like > > > > > > Seattle is north of Portland. > > > > > > To find out whether such a relation obtains we might first identify > > > Seattle, > > > then identify Portland, and then see whether they really stand in the > > > relation of the former being north of the latter. But we can't do that > > > with > > > the alleged relation of correspondence between statements and facts, > > > because > > > in order to identify the fact we already have to [identify] the > > > corresponding true statement." Strawson believes that statements of > > > correspondent, such as > > > > > > "Snow is white" corresponds to the fact that snow is white, > > > > > > do not express genuine relations between independent entities in the > > manner > > > of "Seattle is north of Portland"; rather they express pseudorelation on > > > the > > > order of > > > > > > Sam won a victory. > > > Sally struck a blow. > > > > > > There is not one thing, Sam, that we identify, and another thing, a > > > victory, > > > that we also identify, and then we check to see if Sam stands in the > > > winning > > > relation to the victory. Once we have identified the victory and Sam, > > > there > > > is nothing further to check - Sam's winning is already embedded in the > > > situation details in identifying the victory. Likewise for Sally's blow. > > > Searle's agrees that there is this internal relation between facts and > > true > > > statements, and that this undermines the relational picture of > > > correspondence described above, but he defends a different picture of CT > > in > > > a way that links up with his theory of intentionality. In any event, it > > is > > > important to ponder that statements of correspondence between statements > > > and > > > facts cannot be understood in the manner of ordinary relation statements > > > (like "Seattle is north of Portland"). > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Bryan > > > Tarpley > > > Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 10:13 AM > > > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > > > Subject: Re: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > > > > > Ruth, Tobin, Ian, and Leigh: > > > > > > Wow! Thanks for all the pointers. Sounds like I've got my Thanksgiving > > > reading cut out for me! I'm hoping to do my dissertation on the > > > intersection of CR and Lit Theory, so this is all extremely helpful. > > > > > > On a side note, I recently read Ruth's _Critical Realism, Post-positivism > > > and the Possibility of Knowledge_ and greatly enjoyed it. I'd had > > trouble > > > parsing out exactly what Bhaskar's theory of truth was, and I felt Ruth's > > > treatment (and challenging) of this material was extremely helpful. The > > > insistence that all truth claims are fallible and the reliance on the > > > correspondence theory of truth reminded me of the last few chapters of > > John > > > Searle's _The Construction of Social Reality_. Has anyone looked at the > > > difference between what Searle preaches and CR? > > > > > > Cheers, > > > Bryan > > > > > > > > > On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 12:00 AM, Leigh Price > > wrote: > > > > > > > Dear Brian > > > > > > > > I used a critical realist under-labouring of Fairclough's Critical > > > > Discourse Analysis in my PhD. You can access it at > > > > eprints.ru.ac.za/909/01/Price-phd-v1.pdf. > > > > > > > > I also reviewed a book by Philip Tew called "The Contemporary British > > > > Novel" > > > > p409 Journal of Critical Realism, Vol 5, No 2 (2006). Tew uses > > > > Critical Realism in this book but, unfortunately, it was not a good > > > > example of critical realism in action. Nevertheless, it is perhaps > > > > useful to see how a too-shallow understanding of critical realism can > > > lead > > > one into hot water. > > > > You can find the full text of my review at: > > > > http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/JCR/article/viewArticle/1 > > > > 489 > > > > > > > > Regards, > > > > > > > > Leigh > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > > [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of > > > > Bryan Tarpley > > > > Sent: 02 November 2009 18:16 > > > > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > > > > Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > > > > > > > I'm happy to report that, after presenting a paper at the South > > > > Central MLA conference in Baton Rouge this weekend calling for a > > > > breaking-in of Critical Realism for literature, I generated much > > > > interest in how CR might impact literary theory. I referenced > > > > Fairclough, Jessop, and Sayer's 2001 article "Critical Realism and > > > > Semiosis," among other things. I know that CR has always touted > > > > itself as a response to postmodernism, but does anyone know of any > > > > other potential intersections between CR and literary theory? > > > > > > > > Cheers, > > > > Bryan Tarpley > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Bryan Tarpley > > > > Stephen F. Austin State University > > > > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > Bryan Tarpley > > > Stephen F. Austin State University > > > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > > > signature > > > database 4569 (20091103) __________ > > > > > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > > > > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > > > signature > > > database 4570 (20091103) __________ > > > > > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > > > > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > -- > Bryan Tarpley > Stephen F. Austin State University > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism _________________________________________________________________ Download Messenger onto your mobile for free http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/174426567/direct/01/ From mh at jaspere7.demon.co.uk Thu Nov 5 05:23:59 2009 From: mh at jaspere7.demon.co.uk (Mervyn Hartwig) Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 12:23:59 -0000 Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi Jane An interesting interview highlighting the undoubtedly important work of Tony Lawson in economics. Many thanks for the URL. I think one should take his claim to have arrived at an explicitly critical realist perspective independently of Bhaskar with a grain of salt: many of the formulations, distinctions he uses (e.g. between philosophical and scientific ontology) are in fact Bhaskar's. Also his claim that "I effectively set up" the International Association for Critical Realism -- a number of other people, including Bhaskar, were also importantly involved. The "contrast explanation" he claims credit for should be viewed in the context of the long and rich tradition of the comparative method. Mervyn -----Original Message----- From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Jane Sperry Sent: 04 November 2009 17:21 To: CR; bptarpley at gmail.com Subject: Re: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature Hi Bryan Tony Lawson may have written something on CR and Searle. Here is a short excerpt from a recent interview with Lawson speaking: "Actually, I did take up an invitation to visit Searle and his ontology group in Berkeley last summer, for about five weeks. In fact I went twice, because I was also earlier invited by Searle to give a talk at his bi-annual Collective Intentionality Conference, which incidentally also featured Tuomela and Gilbert. It was a very fruitful experience for me. No, I do not see a big conflict in our projects, certainly not between mine and Searle's. Searle actually thinks that we agree on just about everything. I am not so sure, but he may be right. Certainly we agree on rather a lot. [.....] In terms of our projects we spent a lot of time comparing notes. In fact, I led a seminar contrasting the two projects. The chief difference between us, I believe, is not the positions we sustain, but how we get there [...]. " The whole interview is in: http://ejpe.org/pdf/2-1-int.pdf J > Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 10:38:28 -0600 > From: bptarpley at gmail.com > To: critical-realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > Subject: Re: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > Yes! Which is why I really like Searle, and why I think his ideas, if > not explicitly informed by CR, are very compatible with them. I would > also note that Searle emphasizes over and over again that the > mind/body, reality/social dualisms are false dichotomies, and are more > like levels of stratification. This resonates with Bhaskar's more > recent work on meta-Reality--his main tenet being that all dualisms > are (efficacious) illusions. > > -Bryan > > > On Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 8:16 AM, bill.hord wrote: > > > In discussing Searle, we need to distinguish the 'construction of > > social reality' (the title of his book, and a view that he not only > > endorses but which he thinks is the best explanation for the social) > > from 'social construction of reality' (a position he rejects). > > Searle bases his theory of social reality on what he takes to be a > > realistic foundation: the world is there with its properties. This > > is where he differs from simple social construction views. > > > > We use language, which is socially constructed (from non-constructed > > sounds, e.g.), to make statements about this now constructed and > > non-constructed world (he distinguishes social facts -- I have $10 > > in my pocket -- from brute facts -- there is [a piece of paper in my pocket]). > > > > Bill Hord > > > > "Liminality can best be described as fructile chaos, a storehouse of > > possibilities, not a random assemblage but a striving after new > > forms and structures, a gestation process, a fetation of modes > > appropriate to postliminal experience." (V. Turner) > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu on behalf of Ruth > > Groff > > Sent: Tue 11/3/2009 5:38 PM > > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > > Subject: Re: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > > > Louis! Yay! It's always so great when you weigh in! Hope all's well. > > > > Thanks so much, Bryan, for the mention. I'm glad you liked the book. > > I don't know Searle at all, so will have to watch from the sidelines! > > > > Warmly, > > r. > > > > > > > > On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 4:33 PM, Louis Irwin > > > > wrote: > > > > > Bryan, > > > > > > Regarding your question about Searle's "Social Construction of Reality" > > and > > > its defense of the correspondence theory, I did a quick search of > > > my > > email > > > attic and found I sent the following as part of a message to the > > > list in 2006. I doubt it answers what you asked, but here it is > > > anyway. There are several bouts of debates on the list about > > > whether CR is or is not committed to the correspondence theory. > > > (My view is that if CT is meant as a theory that explains what > > > truth is, then no. However, if CT merely expresses complex > > > relations between perceptions (or propositions) and what they are > > > about without being able to explain those relations, then yes. > > > Ruth begs > > to > > > differ.) --Louis Irwin > > > > > > The correspondence theory (CT) has a long and checkered history, > > > but > > there > > > is an important critique of CT (made by Strawson against Austin in > > > the > > 50s) > > > that is not anti-realist and should be considered in any argument > > > over > > CT. > > > I will summarize Searle's exposition (in "The Construction of > > > Social > > > Reality"): According to Strawson "there is an internal relation > > > between facts and true statements and that relation is such that > > > there could not > > be > > > a genuine relation of correspondence between two independent entities. > > Our > > > model of a genuine relational statement would be something like > > > > > > Seattle is north of Portland. > > > > > > To find out whether such a relation obtains we might first > > > identify Seattle, then identify Portland, and then see whether > > > they really stand in the relation of the former being north of the > > > latter. But we can't do that with the alleged relation of > > > correspondence between statements and facts, because in order to > > > identify the fact we already have to [identify] the corresponding > > > true statement." Strawson believes that statements of > > > correspondent, such as > > > > > > "Snow is white" corresponds to the fact that snow is white, > > > > > > do not express genuine relations between independent entities in > > > the > > manner > > > of "Seattle is north of Portland"; rather they express > > > pseudorelation on the order of > > > > > > Sam won a victory. > > > Sally struck a blow. > > > > > > There is not one thing, Sam, that we identify, and another thing, > > > a victory, that we also identify, and then we check to see if Sam > > > stands in the winning relation to the victory. Once we have > > > identified the victory and Sam, there is nothing further to check > > > - Sam's winning is already embedded in the situation details in > > > identifying the victory. Likewise for Sally's blow. > > > Searle's agrees that there is this internal relation between facts > > > and > > true > > > statements, and that this undermines the relational picture of > > > correspondence described above, but he defends a different picture > > > of CT > > in > > > a way that links up with his theory of intentionality. In any > > > event, it > > is > > > important to ponder that statements of correspondence between > > > statements and facts cannot be understood in the manner of > > > ordinary relation statements (like "Seattle is north of > > > Portland"). > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of > > > Bryan Tarpley > > > Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 10:13 AM > > > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > > > Subject: Re: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > > > > > Ruth, Tobin, Ian, and Leigh: > > > > > > Wow! Thanks for all the pointers. Sounds like I've got my > > > Thanksgiving reading cut out for me! I'm hoping to do my > > > dissertation on the intersection of CR and Lit Theory, so this is all extremely helpful. > > > > > > On a side note, I recently read Ruth's _Critical Realism, > > > Post-positivism and the Possibility of Knowledge_ and greatly > > > enjoyed it. I'd had > > trouble > > > parsing out exactly what Bhaskar's theory of truth was, and I felt > > > Ruth's treatment (and challenging) of this material was extremely > > > helpful. The insistence that all truth claims are fallible and the > > > reliance on the correspondence theory of truth reminded me of the > > > last few chapters of > > John > > > Searle's _The Construction of Social Reality_. Has anyone looked > > > at the difference between what Searle preaches and CR? > > > > > > Cheers, > > > Bryan > > > > > > > > > On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 12:00 AM, Leigh Price > > wrote: > > > > > > > Dear Brian > > > > > > > > I used a critical realist under-labouring of Fairclough's > > > > Critical Discourse Analysis in my PhD. You can access it at > > > > eprints.ru.ac.za/909/01/Price-phd-v1.pdf. > > > > > > > > I also reviewed a book by Philip Tew called "The Contemporary > > > > British Novel" > > > > p409 Journal of Critical Realism, Vol 5, No 2 (2006). Tew uses > > > > Critical Realism in this book but, unfortunately, it was not a > > > > good example of critical realism in action. Nevertheless, it is > > > > perhaps useful to see how a too-shallow understanding of > > > > critical realism can > > > lead > > > one into hot water. > > > > You can find the full text of my review at: > > > > http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/JCR/article/viewArt > > > > icle/1 > > > > 489 > > > > > > > > Regards, > > > > > > > > Leigh > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > From: critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > > [mailto:critical-realism-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf > > > > Of Bryan Tarpley > > > > Sent: 02 November 2009 18:16 > > > > To: Continuation of the Spoon Bhaskar List > > > > Subject: [Critical-Realism] Critical Realism in Literature > > > > > > > > I'm happy to report that, after presenting a paper at the South > > > > Central MLA conference in Baton Rouge this weekend calling for a > > > > breaking-in of Critical Realism for literature, I generated much > > > > interest in how CR might impact literary theory. I referenced > > > > Fairclough, Jessop, and Sayer's 2001 article "Critical Realism > > > > and Semiosis," among other things. I know that CR has always > > > > touted itself as a response to postmodernism, but does anyone > > > > know of any other potential intersections between CR and literary theory? > > > > > > > > Cheers, > > > > Bryan Tarpley > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Bryan Tarpley > > > > Stephen F. Austin State University > > > > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > Bryan Tarpley > > > Stephen F. Austin State University > > > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > > > signature database 4569 (20091103) __________ > > > > > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > > > > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > > > signature database 4570 (20091103) __________ > > > > > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > > > > > http://www.eset.com > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Critical-Realism mailing list > > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism > > > > > > -- > Bryan Tarpley > Stephen F. Austin State University > 936.468.2101 | btarpley at sfasu.edu > _______________________________________________ > Critical-Realism mailing list > Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu > http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism _________________________________________________________________ Download Messenger onto your mobile for free http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/174426567/direct/01/ _______________________________________________ Critical-Realism mailing list Critical-Realism at lists.econ.utah.edu http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/critical-realism __________ NOD32 4575 (20091105) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com From mh at jaspere7.demon.co.uk Thu Nov 12 10:56:04 2009 From: mh at jaspere7.demon.co.uk (Mervyn Hartwig) Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:56:04 -0000 Subject: [Critical-Realism] JCR emails Message-ID: If anyone has sent me any emails over the last three days (Tues 10 -Thurs 12 November) please resend, as my emails were bounced during that period. Apologies for using the list for this purpose, but I'm concerned I might have missed mail relevant to JCR. Many thanks, Mervyn Hartwig General Editor Journal of Critical Realism ISSN: 1476-7430 (print) ISSN: 1572-5138 (online) http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/JCR From bwanika at yahoo.com Thu Nov 19 02:59:37 2009 From: bwanika at yahoo.com (BD_wanika) Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:59:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Critical-Realism] (no subject) Message-ID: <305789.91628.qm@web58402.mail.re3.yahoo.com> ListersIf there is any one who has read the paper below help guide me on its important components re:Bhaskarian theory Contemporary Developments in Sociological Theory: Current Projects and Conditions of Possibility by Charles Camic and Neil Gross Daniel Bwanika www.idrc-ug.com