File spoon-archives/bhaskar.archive/bhaskar_2002/bhaskar.0204, message 71


From: "Conlon, Ryan" <r.conlon-AT-lancaster.ac.uk>
Subject: RE: BHA: Request for Recommendations for a "Novice" 
Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 20:45:00 +0100


Hi Brad
I would second the recommendations from Ruth Groff, especially the Collier
book.  In addition, you say you have read Andrew Sayer's Method in Social
Science, I would highly recommend his more recent Realism and Social Science,
Sage, 2000.
Best
Ryan

'For me, life exists only insofar as I can theorize it.'
Slavoj Zizek

Ryan Conlon
Department of Sociology
Lancaster University
Lancaster
LA1 4YL
Tel. +44 (0) 1524 593570
Fax. +44 (0) 1524 594256
e-mail. r.conlon-AT-lancaster.ac.uk
home. http://www.lancs.ac.uk/postgrad/conlon


> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Ruth Groff [SMTP:rgroff-AT-yorku.ca]
> Sent:	28 April 2002 20:42
> To:	bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
> Subject:	Re: BHA: Request for Recommendations for a "Novice" 
> 
> Hi Brad,
> 
> Welcome! 
> 
> I suspect that the recommendations that you receive for what to read
> (especially of Bhaskar's own works) will vary widely, depending on people's
> own views.  
> 
> My own number one unequivocal recommendation for someone in your position is
> Andrew Collier's *Critical Realism: An Introduction to Roy Bhakser's
> Philosophy*.  Verso, I think.  1994.  Collier's writing is engaging, accurate
> and completely reader-friendly.  The book mostly covers the ideas of *A
> Realist Theory of Science* and *The Possibility of Naturalism* -- which is to
> say, transcendental realism and critical naturalism, as Bhaskar originally
> dubbed the positions set out in those books.
> 
> As I said, this is my number one recommendation.  Hands down.
> 
> Beyond this, on Mervyn's recommendation I bought *Explaining Reality:
> Critical Realism in the Social Sciences* Danermark, et. al., Routledge, 2002.
> I have only just started it, but it does look good.  It might be a good thing
> to turn to AFTER Collier.
> 
> In terms of where to start with Bhaskar himself, here it is really a matter
> of which ideas you want to focus on, how you view the development over time,
> etc.  I guess I would say why not start with the selections from Bhaskar that
> are in the Essential Readings collection that you already have.  I would
> probably read them in the order that they present them there, but that may
> tell you more about me and my interests than anything else!  (I have worked
> most closely with the earlier books.)  
> 
> Feel free to ask for input from people, on or off list, with whatever you are
> reading.  Keep in mind that there's lots of disagreement, both interpretive
> and evaluative, amongst list members.  (And do get your hands on Collier's
> intro.!)
> 
> Warmly,
> Ruth     
> 
> At 02:12 PM 28/04/2002 -0400, you wrote:
> 
> >Bhaskar List Members,
> >
> >I am new to this list, and am seeking some help and recommendations. I'm an
> applied sociologist (I evaluate educational and human service programs, for a
> living) and am newly studying critical realism. I must say that I ve found
> Bhaskar s work, although clearly very important, initially pretty heavy
> going. I am now trudging through the anthology Critical Realism Essential
> Readings, and simultaneously perusing Plato, etc.The Problems of Philosophy
> and Their Resolution. The latter book claims, apparently without irony, "to
> be his most accessible, to date." 
> >
> >My questions:
> >
> >1. Are there secondary texts or articles that list members would recommend
> that would ease my initiation to Bhaskar, and more generally, critical
> realism? (I just finished , Philosophy of Social Science: the Philosophical
> Foundations of Social Thought, by Ted Benton and Ian Craib, which is a
> succinct and serviceable primer, with a chapter on CR.) 
> >
> >2. Are their accessible works that discuss the "practical" applications or
> perhaps "implications" of CR for social science research? (I ve enjoyed
> Andrew Sayer, Method in the Social Sciences, and would welcome other
> suggestions.) 
> >
> >3. Is there a preferred order for approaching Bhaskar s writings? For
> example, one reader suggested looking at his writings in reverse
> chronological order: "Philosophy and the Idea of Freedom," "Reclaiming
> Reality," "Scientific Realism and Human Emancipation," "The Possibility of
> Naturalism," and "A Realist Theory of Science." 
> >
> >Many thanks in advance for your suggestions and assistance. You may choose,
> if you would like, to reply off-list to:
> <mailto:bradrose1-AT-attbi.com>bradrose1-AT-attbi.com 
> >Brad Rose, Ph.D.
> >e-mail: <mailto:bradrose1-AT-attbi.com>bradrose1-AT-attbi.com
> >
> >"An optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and
> the pessimist fears this is true." --James Bench Cabell, The Silver Stallion,
> 1926
> >  
> 
> 
> 
>      --- from list bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---


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