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Showing papers on "Realism published in 2004"


Book
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: Barry Buzan as mentioned in this paper proposes a new theoretical framework that can be used to address globalisation as a complex political interplay among state and non-state actors, and highlights the idea of primary institutions as the central contribution of English school theory.
Abstract: In this 2004 book, Barry Buzan offers an extensive critique and reappraisal of the English school approach to International Relations. Starting on the neglected concept of world society and bringing together the international society tradition and the Wendtian mode of constructivism, Buzan offers a new theoretical framework that can be used to address globalisation as a complex political interplay among state and non-state actors. This approach forces English school theory to confront neglected questions about both its basic concepts and assumptions, and about the constitution of society in terms of what values are shared, how and why they are shared, and by whom. Buzan highlights the idea of primary institutions as the central contribution of English school theory and shows how this both differentiates English school theory from realism and neoliberal institutionalism, and how it can be used to generate distinctive comparative and historical accounts of international society.

495 citations


BookDOI
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an ontology for management and management studies with a focus on the discovery of power and contextual issues within and outside 'networks' and present a meta-theory for critique and development.
Abstract: Part 1: Meta-Theory: Critique and Development 1. An Ontology for Organisation and Management Studies 2. Brands, Boundaries and Bandwagons: A Critical Reflection on Critical Management Studies 3. Idealism and Ideology: The Caterpillar Controversy in Critical Accounting Research 4. The Ontology Of Work: Social Relations and Doing in the Sphere of Necessity 5. Human Resource Management and Realism: A Morphogenetic Approach Part 2: Methodology: Critique and development 6. Methodology for Management and Organisation Studies: Some Implications of Critical Realism 7. Future Directions in Operations Research Modelling: Critical Realism and Multimethodology 8. Temporally Embedded Case Comparison In Industrial Marketing Research 9. Theorizing Networks From A Critical Realist Standpoint: The Discovery of Power and Contextual Issues Within and Outside 'Networks' 10. Competence Theories and their Methodological Implications Part 3: Substantive Contributions 11. Working in Teams: Ethnographic Evidence on the High Commitment Workplace 12. Humour and Subversion in Two Call Centres 13. Tracing the Effects of a Hospital Merger 14. The Moral Management of Nursing Labour Power: Conceptualising Control and Resistance 15. I Say Tomato, You Say Tamato: Putting Critical Realism to Work in Labour Market Recruitment Processes

223 citations


Book
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: Faris argues that by combining realistic representation with fantastic elements so that the marvelous seems to grow organically out of the ordinary, magical realism destabilizes the dominant form of realism based on empirical definitions of reality, gives it visionary power, and thus constitutes what might be called a "remystification" of narrative in the West.
Abstract: "Ordinary Enchantments" investigates magical realism as the most important trend in contemporary international fiction, defines its characteristics and narrative techniques, and proposes a new theory to explain its significance. In the most comprehensive critical treatment of this literary mode to date, Wendy B. Faris discusses a rich array of examples from magical realist novels around the world, including the work not only of Latin American writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but also of authors like Salman Rushdie, Gunter Grass, Toni Morrison, and Ben Okri.Faris argues that by combining realistic representation with fantastic elements so that the marvelous seems to grow organically out of the ordinary, magical realism destabilizes the dominant form of realism based on empirical definitions of reality, gives it visionary power, and thus constitutes what might be called a "remystification" of narrative in the West. Noting the radical narrative heterogeneity of magical realism, the author compares its cultural role to that of traditional shamanic performance, which joins the worlds of daily life and that of the spirits. Because of that capacity to bridge different worlds, magical realism has served as an effective decolonizing agent, providing the ground for marginal voices, submerged traditions, and emergent literatures to develop and create masterpieces. At the same time, this process is not limited to postcolonial situations but constitutes a global trend that replenishes realism from within. In addition to describing what many consider to be the progressive cultural work of magical realism, Faris also confronts the recent accusation that magical realism and its study as a global phenomenon can be seen as a form of commodification and an imposition of cultural homogeneity. And finally, drawing on the narrative innovations and cultural scenarios that magical realism enacts, she extends those principles toward issues of gender and the possibility of a female element within magical realism.

203 citations


Book
02 Apr 2004
TL;DR: Nye as mentioned in this paper collected together many of his key writings for the first time as well as new material, and an important concluding essay which examines the relevance of international relations in practical policymaking.
Abstract: One of the most brilliant and influential international relations scholars of his generation, Joseph S. Nye Jr. is one of the few academics to have served at the very highest levels of US government. This volume collects together many of his key writings for the first time as well as new material, and an important concluding essay which examines the relevance of international relations in practical policymaking.This book addresses:* America's post-Cold War role in international affairs* the ethics of foreign policy* the information revolution* terrorism.

165 citations


MonographDOI
19 Aug 2004
TL;DR: Realist Social Theory and Empirical Research as mentioned in this paper ) is a realist social theory and empirical research approach for the case of housing and health in India, and it has been applied in a variety of domains, such as health visitors and "disadvantaged" parent-clients.
Abstract: Introduction: Realist Social Theory and Empirical Research Part 1: Methodology and Measurement Introduction 1. Evidence-Based Policy: A Realist Perspective 2. Complex and Contingent Causation: The Implications of Complex Realism for Quantitative Modelling the Case of Housing and Health 3. Contingent Realism and Single Case Probabilities Part 2: Applying Realism Introduction 4. Class as Variable, Class as Generative Mechanism: The Importance of Critical Realism for the Sociology of Health Inequalities 5 Researching 'Real' Language Part 3: Reflexivity and Realist Research Introduction 6 Methodological Triangulation in Empirical Research: An Indian Exemplar 7. Health Visitors and 'Disadvantaged' Parent-Clients: Designing Realist Research 8. Reflexivity and Social Science: A Contradiction in Terms?

164 citations


Book
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: The authors provide an essential guide for those interested in or studying magic realism, one of today's most popular genres in literature, including books, film, and art, as well as an overview of the contexts for magic realism.
Abstract: Bestselling novels by Angela Carter, Salman Rushdie, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and a multitude of others have enchanted us by blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. Their genre of writing has been variously defined as 'magic', 'magical' or 'marvellous' realism and is quickly becoming a core area of literary studies. This guide offers a first step for those wishing to consider this area in greater depth, by: exploring the many definitions and terms used in relation to the genre tracing the origins of the movement in painting and fiction offering an historical overview of the contexts for magic(al) realism providing analysis of key works of magic(al) realist fiction, film and art. This is an essential guide for those interested in or studying one of today's most popular genres.

156 citations


Posted Content
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the tension between realism and antirealism at the basis of Kantian constructivism and propose a conflictive account of the source of the validity of social norms.
Abstract: In this paper I analyze the tension between realism and antirealism at the basis of Kantian constructivism. This tension generates a conflictive account of the source of the validity of social norms. On the one hand, the claim to moral objectivity characteristic of Kantian moral theories makes the validity of norms depend on realist assumptions concerning the existence of shared fundamental interests among all rational human beings. I illustrate this claim through a comparison of the approaches of Rawls, Habermas and Scanlon. On the other hand, however, objections to moral realism motivate many Kantian constructivists to endorse the antirealist claim that reasonable agreement is the source of the validity of social norms. After analyzing the difficulties in the latter strategy, I try to show how a balance between the realist and antirealist elements of Kantian constructivism can be reached by drawing a sharper distinction between the justice and the legitimacy of social norms.

149 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze the tension between realism and antirealism at the basis of Kantian constructivism and generate a conflictive account of the source of the validity of social norms.
Abstract: . In this paper I analyze the tension between realism and antirealism at the basis of Kantian constructivism. This tension generates a conflictive account of the source of the validity of social norms. On the one hand, the claim to moral objectivity characteristic of Kantian moral theories makes the validity of norms depend on realist assumptions concerning the existence of shared fundamental interests among all rational human beings. I illustrate this claim through a comparison of the approaches of Rawls, Habermas and Scanlon. On the other hand, however, objections to moral realism motivate many Kantian constructivists to endorse the antirealist claim that reasonable agreement is the source of the validity of social norms. After analyzing the difficulties in the latter strategy, I try to show how a balance between the realist and antirealist elements of Kantian constructivism can be reached by drawing a sharper distinction between the justice and the legitimacy of social norms.

142 citations


Book
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: A Cervantic Prelude: From Don Quixote to Postmodernism as discussed by the authors, from Robinson Crusoe to Survivor, and the Self-Conscious Novel: From Henry Fielding to David Eggers.
Abstract: List of Illustations. Preface. Acknowledgments. Introduction. 1. A Cervantic Prelude: From Don Quixote to Postmodernism. 2. Colonial and Postcolonial Classics: From Robinson Crusoe to Survivor. 3. The Self--Conscious Novel: From Henry Fielding to David Eggers. 4. The Proto--cinematic Novel: Metamorphoses of Madame Bovary. 5. Underground Man and Neurotic Narrators: From Dostoevsky to Nabakov. 6. Modernism, Adaptation, and the French New Wave. 7. Full Circle: From Cervantes to Magic Realism. Index

120 citations


Book
31 Jul 2004
TL;DR: Groff as mentioned in this paper defends realism about causality through close discussions of Kant, Hilary Putnam, Brian Ellis and Charles Taylor, among others, and affirms critical realism, but with several important qualifications.
Abstract: Groff defends 'realism about causality' through close discussions of Kant, Hilary Putnam, Brian 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 between the 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.

103 citations



Journal Article
TL;DR: Domain analysis represents an attempt to reintroduce a realist perspective in library and information science, and a realists conception of relevance, information seeking, information retrieval, and knowledge organization is outlined.
Abstract: The basic realist claim is that a mind-independent reality exists. It should be common sense knowledge to accept this claim, just as any theories that try to deny it soon become inconsistent because reality strikes back. In spite of this, antirealist philosophies flourish, not only in philosophy but also in the behavioral and cognitive sciences and in information science. This is highly problematic because it removes the attention from reality to subjective phenomena with no real explanatory power. Realism should not be confused with the view that all scientific claims are true or with any other kind of naivete concerning knowledge claims. The opposite of realism may be termed antirealism, idealism, or nominalism. Although many people confuse empiricism and positivism with realism, these traditions are by nature strongly antirealist, which is why a sharp distinction should be made between empiricism and realism. Empirical research should not be founded on assumptions about “the given” of observations, but should recognize the theory-laden nature of observations. Domain analysis represents an attempt to reintroduce a realist perspective in library and information science. A realist conception of relevance, information seeking, information retrieval, and knowledge organization is outlined. Information systems of all kinds, including research libraries and public libraries, should be informed by a realist philosophy and a realist information science.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argue that the discipline of international relations is bound to repeat its rounds of debates about realism as long as the underlying dynamic intrinsic to the realist tradition is not disturbed. But they do not discuss the role of realism in these debates.
Abstract: The present article argues that the discipline of international relations is bound to repeat its rounds of debates about realism as long as the underlying dynamic intrinsic to the realist tradition...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, two competing approaches are discerned within the eco-phenomenological movement: Nietzscheans and Husserlians propose a naturalistic ethical realism in which good and bad are ultimately matters of fact, and values should be grounded in these proto-ethical facts; Heideggerians and Levinasians articulate a transcendental ethical realism according to which we discover what really matters when we are appropriately open to the environment, but what we thereby discover is a transpersonal source of meaning that cannot be reduced to facts, values, or entities of any kind.
Abstract: The idea inspiring the eco‐phenomenological movement is that phenomenology can help remedy our environmental crisis by uprooting and replacing environmentally‐destructive ethical and metaphysical presuppositions inherited from modern philosophy. Eco‐phenomenology's critiques of subject/object dualism and the fact/value divide are sketched and its positive alternatives examined. Two competing approaches are discerned within the eco‐phenomenological movement: Nietzscheans and Husserlians propose a naturalistic ethical realism in which good and bad are ultimately matters of fact, and values should be grounded in these proto‐ethical facts; Heideggerians and Levinasians articulate a transcendental ethical realism according to which we discover what really matters when we are appropriately open to the environment, but what we thereby discover is a transcendental source of meaning that cannot be reduced to facts, values, or entities of any kind. These two species of ethical realism generate different kinds of et...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors propose that the iterative deployment of these 2 perspectives, just as the Iterative application of inductive and deductive reasoning in science may promote more rigorous, integrative, cumulative, and useful scientific theories.
Abstract: Scientific realism holds that scientific theories are approximations of universal truths about reality, whereas scientific instrumentalism posits that scientific theories are intellectual structures that provide adequate predictions of what is observed and useful frameworks for answering questions and solving problems in a given domain. These philosophical perspectives have different strengths and weaknesses and have been regarded as incommensurate: Scientific realism fosters theoretical rigor, verifiability, parsimony, and debate, whereas scientific instrumentalism fosters theoretical innovation, synthesis, generativeness, and scope. The authors review the evolution of scientific realism and instrumentalism in psychology and propose that the categorical distinction between the 2 is overstated as a prescription for scientific practice. The authors propose that the iterative deployment of these 2 perspectives, just as the iterative application of inductive and deductive reasoning in science, may promote more rigorous, integrative, cumulative, and useful scientific theories.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argue that the "China threat" argument in mainstream international relations literature in the United States is derived, primarily, from a discursive construction of otherness, which is predicated on a particular narcissistic understanding of the U.S. self and on a positivist-based realism.
Abstract: Argues that the "China threat" argument in mainstream international relations literature in the United States is derived, primarily, from a discursive construction of otherness. Construction which is predicated on a particular narcissistic understanding of the U.S. self and on a positivist-based realism, concerned with absolute certainty and security; Concern which is central to the dominant U.S. self-imagery.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors consider the role of perceived realism judgments in the cultivation process from a narrative perspective and argue that realism judgments should be considered an on-line, evaluative process that has the potential to interfere with cultivation effects.
Abstract: Cultivation research has been criticized for failing to articulate underlying psychological processes and mechanisms. Research into viewers' perceptions of content realism has been implicated in the cultivation process, yet we know little about how viewers assess realism, especially while viewing. This article considers the role of perceived realism judgments in the cultivation process from a narrative perspective. It argues that cultivation research should refocus on the viewer's interaction with the narrative, and that perceived realism judgments should be considered an on-line, evaluative process that has the potential to interfere with cultivation effects.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Foucault's early works are heavily influenced by an anti-humanist structuralism which is employed in the studies of madness and illness and theoretically elaborated in The Order of Things and The Archaeology of Knowledge as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Introduction This article looks at Foucault from the standpoint of realist philosophy, in particular the critical realism developed by Roy Bhaskar and others. So far little has been said on this possible connection, although this article examines some of the claims made by Richard Marsden in his recent book, The Nature of Capital. The opening sections concentrate on epistemological issues and in particular the criticisms made of Foucault's conception of truth. These sections also distinguish between Foucault's early, middle and late works and take up the debate in relation to some of the claims of postmodernism. Foucault's early works are heavily influenced by an anti-humanist structuralism which is employed in the studies of madness and illness and theoretically elaborated in The Order of Things and The Archaeology of Knowledge. These works attempt to study social history according to changes in discourse. The concept of discourse becomes an overarching category that explains the cohesion and unity of social practices. It is argued that while there are problems with Foucault's notion of discourse, his position should be distinguished from the postmodern approach. The third section argues that Foucault's later work moves away from discourse and concerns itself more with practice and power. However, Foucault also moves away from structure, leaving a social ontology that is fragmented, pluralistic and dispersed. This is seen to be the main weakness in Foucault's work on governmentality which is covered in the fourth section. It is argued that critical realism's conception of a structured and stratified social world is necessary if we are to conceive of traditional Marxist notions of state power and underlying economic relations. However, Foucault's work does add considerably to a Marxist understanding of the way the social operates through techniques of discipline and regulation and this is covered in the final section in relation to the production process. Knowledge and the real world On a spectrum that runs from realism to postmodernism Foucault stands somewhere in the middle. Critical realism is driven by the need to offer some explanatory power for how we understand the world around us, while remaining aware of the limitations of such an exercise. Ontologically bold in recognising the need to" offer an explanation, critical realism is epistemically cautious in how it regards the status of this explanation. Caution comes from the premise that the real world is independent of the knowledge we have of it and that the world itself and the knowledge we have of it are not one and the same thing. Consequently, all knowledge is necessarily fallible. The object of knowledge is intransitive, the knowledge we have of it is transitive. This transitive domain is subject to the kind of power-knowledge relations discussed by Foucault. This does not, however, affect the status of the knowledge-independent intransitive realm. As Bhaskar writes: 'The intransitive objects of knowledge are in general invariant to our knowledge of them; they are the real things and structures, mechanisms and processes, events and possibilities of the world; and for the most part they are quite independent of us' (Bhaskar 1978:22). For the postmodernist, there is no such distinction between the intransitive and the transitive, never mind any comprehension of structures, mechanisms or processes. Knowledge and reality are regarded as one and the same thing, or at least reality outside of knowledge is declared meaningless. Postmodern thought displays the clearest case of what Bhaskar calls the epistemic fallacy, or the reduction of the world to the knowledge that we have of it. For those foolish enough to take Derrida at his (or his translator's) word, there is nothing beyond the text, no outside text, no intransitive reality. Of course such a position can lead to the kind of absurdities of which we are all too familiar--Baudrillard's hyper-real takes over from the real: 'It is a question of substituting the signs of the real for the real. …

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Oct 2004-Synthese
TL;DR: It will be that a weaker version of the form of realism, mainly developed by Steven French and James Ladyman, is more plausible – namely, epistemic structural realism.
Abstract: In the last decade, structural realism has been presented as the most promising strategy for developing a defensible realist view of science. Nevertheless, controversy still continues in relation to the exact meaning of the proposed structuralism. The stronger version of structural realism, the so-called ontic structural realism, has been argued for on the basis of some ideas related to quantum mechanics. In this paper, I will first outline these arguments, mainly developed by Steven French and James Ladyman, then challenge them, putting a particular emphasis on a metaphysical principle (the Principle of the Identity of the Indiscernibles) which, even though it is crucial for the whole argument, hasn't been, in my opinion, clearly stated and examined yet. My overall view will be that a weaker version of the form of realism we are considering is more plausible – namely, epistemic structural realism.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors discusses the relevance of ontology, the metaphysical study of being, in social sciences through a comparison of three distinct outlooks: Roy Bhaskar's version of critical realism, a pragmatic realist approach the most renowned representatives of which are Rom Harre and Hilary Putnam, and the authors' own synthesis of the pragmatist John Dewey's and the neopragmatist Richard Rorty's ideas, here called methodological relationalism.
Abstract: The article discusses the relevance of ontology, the metaphysical study of being, in social sciences through a comparison of three distinct outlooks: Roy Bhaskar's version of critical realism, a pragmatic realist approach the most renowned representatives of which are Rom Harre and Hilary Putnam, and the authors' own synthesis of the pragmatist John Dewey's and the neopragmatist Richard Rorty's ideas, here called methodological relationalism. The Bhaskarian critical realism is committed to the heavy ontological furniture of metaphysical transcendentalism, resting on essentialist presumptions of causality and social structures, tacitly creating a dualism between individuals and society. Pragmatic realists, for their part, carry much lighter metaphysical baggage than critical realists and, much in a pragmatist vein, accept the idea that social scientists should study society by studying social life-the interwoven activities of individuals. Nevertheless, pragmatic realists only reluctantly, if at all, renounce the subject-object dualism and its ontological implications. Drawing on the ideas of Donald Davidson and Richard Rorty, the writers outline their own antirepresentationalist, antiessentialist approach to social sciences. The proposed methodological relationalism is a pragmatist approach of Deweyan origin. Based on a Darwinian understanding of human beings as organisms trying to cope with their environment, it emphasises the insight that one can neither step outside one's own action, nor withdraw from the actor's point of view, just as one cannot cognitively step outside language.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Barkin this article argued that constructivism is subject to E.H. Carr's dialectic between realism and utopianism, and argued that the problem with contemporary constructivism has been dominated by liberalism and idealism; it would therefore benefit from a healthy infusion of realism.
Abstract: In his article “Realist Constructivism,”Barkin (2003:338) described constructivism as a cluster of research methods and analytical tools: a “set of assumptions about how to study world politics” rather than a “set of assumptions about how politics work.” As such, constructivism is subject to E.H. Carr's dialectic between realism and utopianism. Barkin also argued that the problem with contemporary constructivism is that it has been dominated by liberalism and idealism; it would therefore benefit from a healthy infusion of realism. Much of Barkin's essay is aimed at showing that mainstream constructivism is, or can be, broadly compatible with classical realist theory. Barkin is right that mainstream US constructivism is liberal and idealist. In this respect, his article serves as an important overarching statement of a position implicitly taken by a growing number of constructivist scholars. However, Barkin underplays the real and substantial differences between a commitment to understanding the social world as a product of contingent social interactions, on the one hand, and a commitment to understanding the social world as a result of natural necessity, on the other. These divergent commitments are assumptions about how politics works—assumptions that place constructivism in opposition to both liberal and realist approaches to contemporary international relations. By ignoring these distinctions, Barkin's arguments amount to a call for a “constructivist realism”—a realism that takes norms and ideas seriously as objects of analysis—rather than a “realist-constructivism”—a constructivism that involves a self-consistent set of arguments about why power cannot be, in any way, transcended in international politics. The latter approach represents the key space in the field occupied by realist-constructivism, and it provides a better basis for promoting both a dialogue within constructivism and a dialogue between constructivism and realism. Where would a properly understood realist-constructivism fit into the disputes between the so-called “isms” in …

Book
29 Oct 2004
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an overview of the approaches to television drama and post-modernism in terms of representation, power and subjectivity, ideology, hegemony and discourse using Psychoanalysis.
Abstract: Introduction: Approaches to Television Drama Part 1: Representing Television Drama: Television Drama and its Critics Part 2: Stories and Meanings Narrative Genre Realism Part 3: Power and Subjectivity Ideology, Hegemony and Discourse Uses of Psychoanalysis Part 4: Gender and Sexuality Feminist Approaches Sexual Subjects Part 5: The end of representation? Television Drama and Postmodernism

Journal Article
TL;DR: If you look through the academic literature on leadership, you might conclude that every leader is good, or at least well intentioned, but this view could be wrong.
Abstract: If you look through the academic literature on leadership, you might conclude that every leader is good, or at least well intentioned. We could all benefit from a dose of realism.

Journal Article
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an analysis of Hammersley's work, drawing attention to some of its shortcomings, such as the conflation of ontology and epistemology, and the quick dismissal of orthodox Marxism as a viable theory for critical ethnography.
Abstract: In asking the provocative question: ‘What’s wrong with ethnography? Hammersley draws attention to what he sees as the conceptual and methodological confusion arising from two competing strands of practice: ‘naive realism’ and ‘relativism’. As a solution, he offers ‘subtle realism’ to steer a path through and beyond the confusion. This paper presents an analysis of Hammersley’s work, drawing attention to some of its shortcomings. These centre on two closely related issues. The first is Hammersley’s conflation of ontology and epistemology. This results in a shallow realism that ignores the ontological status of structure and its relation to human practice. In contrast, Bhaskar’s critical realism is offered as an appropriate under labourer to ethnographic theory and practice. The second is Hammersley’s quick dismissal of orthodox Marxism as a viable theory for critical ethnography. Drawing on the critical realist ideas of stratification and emergence, the paper argues that Marxism is essential to any worthwhile critical ethnography.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper argued that quantifiers always range over domains that are in principle extensible, and so cannot count as really being "everything" and thus cannot be considered to be "everything".
Abstract: This paper argues for the thesis that, roughly put, it is impossible to talk about absolutely everything. To put the thesis more precisely, there is a particular sense in which, as a matter of semantics, quantifiers always range over domains that are in principle extensible, and so cannot count as really being ‘absolutely everything’. The paper presents an argument for this thesis, and considers some important objections to the argument and to the formulation of the thesis. The paper also offers an assessment of just how implausible the thesis really is. It argues that the intuitions against the thesis come down to a few special cases, which can be given special treatment. Finally, the paper considers some metaphysical ideas that might surround the thesis. Particularly, it might be maintained that an important variety of realism is incompatible with the thesis. The paper argues that this is not the case.

Book
18 May 2004
TL;DR: In this paper, the Peasant and Modern Narrative in Egypt is discussed. But the focus is on the fallah in early drama and dialogue and not on the storyteller.
Abstract: Introduction: The Peasant and Modern Narrative in Egypt 1. The Garrulous Peasant: Za'qub Sannu', Addullah al-Nadim and the Construction of the Fallah in Early Drama and Dialogue 2. Novels and Nations 3. Foundations: Pastoral and Anti-Pastoral 4. The Politics of Reality: Realism, Neo-Realism and the Village Novel 5. The Land 6. The Exiled Son 7. The Storyteller Conclusion

Book ChapterDOI
Kevin D. Hoover1
TL;DR: In this article, the authors try to reconcile Friedman's methodological writings with his practices as an empirical economist by, first, taking his roots in Alfred Marshall seriously and, second, by taking the methodological implications of his empirical work seriously.
Abstract: Milton Friedman is usually regarded as an instrumentalist on the basis of his infamous claim that economic theories are to be judged by their predictions and not by the realism of their assumptions This interpretation sits oddly with Friedman's empirical work - eg, Friedman and Schwartz''s monetary history - and his explicit rejection of theories of the business cycle that, while based on accurate correlations, nevertheless do not make economic sense In this paper, I try to reconcile Friedman's methodological writings with his practices as an empirical economist by, first, taking his roots in Alfred Marshall seriously and, second, by taking the methodological implications of his empirical work seriously Friedman dislikes the word "cause" Nevertheless, appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, Friedman is best understood as a causal realist - that is, one who understands the object of scientific inquiry as the discovery through empirical investigation of the true causal mechanisms underlying observable phenomena

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper argued that commonalities in human bodily experience can serve as a basis for cross-cultural commensurability while still providing room for difference and contingency, with embodied realism being presented as a middle ground between Enlightenment realism and postmodern antirealism.
Abstract: This article argues for the usefulness of a new methodology for the study of comparative religion, the analysis of conceptual metaphor, as well as for the advantages of the theoretical orientation in which it is grounded, “embodied realism.” The manner in which this methodology and theoretical orientation avoid some of the shortcomings of previous approaches to the study of comparative religion is discussed, with embodied realism being presented as a middle ground between Enlightenment realism and postmodern antirealism. It is argued that commonalities in human bodily experience can serve as a basis for cross-cultural commensurability while still providing room for difference and contingency. Finally, a brief analysis of the human rights debate with China is offered as an illustration of how the methodology of metaphor analysis might actually be applied, as well as its potential role in enabling cross-cultural dialogue on contentious religious issues.

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: The notion that the 1990s were a holiday from history, an illusory period during which we imagined that the existential struggles of the past six decades against the various totalitarianisms had ended for good, was challenged by September 11 as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: ON FEBRUARY 10, 2004, I delivered the Irving Kristol Lecture to the American Enterprise Institute outlining a theory of foreign policy that I called democratic realism. It was premised on the notion that the 1990s were a holiday from history, an illusory period during which we imagined that the existential struggles of the past six decades against the various totalitarianisms had ended for good. September 11 reminded us rudely that history had not ended, and we found ourselves in a new existential struggle, this time with an enemy even more fanatical, fatalistic and indeed undeterable than in the past. Nonetheless, we had one factor in our favor. With the passing of the Soviet Union, we had entered a unique period in human history, a unipolar era in which America enjoys a predominance of power greater than any that has existed in the half-millennium of the modern state system. The challenge of the new age is whether we can harness that unipolar power to confront the new challenge, or whether we rely, as we did for the first decade of the post-Cold War era, on the vague internationalism that characterizes the foreign policy thinking of European elites and American liberalism.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Structural realism has recently re-entered mainstream discussions in the philosophy of science as mentioned in this paper, and a metaphysics of structure that is capable of supporting the epistemic aspirations of realists, and that is immune to the charge most commonly levelled against structuralism.
Abstract: Structural realism has recently re‐entered mainstream discussions in the philosophy of science. The central notion of structure, however, is contested by both advocates and critics. This paper briefly reviews currently prominent structuralist accounts en route to proposing a metaphysics of structure that is capable of supporting the epistemic aspirations of realists, and that is immune to the charge most commonly levelled against structuralism. This account provides an alternative to the existing epistemic and ontic forms of the position, incorporating elements of both. Structures are here identified with relations between first order, causal properties: properties that confer specific dispositions for relations. This form of structuralism constitutes an explicit proposal for what seem implicit structuralist tendencies in sophisticated but more traditional characterizations of realism. An outline of the proposal's response to the anti‐realist's pessimistic induction on the history of scientific theories i...