File spoon-archives/bourdieu.archive/bourdieu_1997/97-04-25.090, message 23


From: "Frans Schryer" <FRANS-AT-css.uoguelph.ca>
Date:          Tue, 11 Feb 1997 18:42:26 GMT-5
Subject:       Re: Bhaskar & Bourdieu


Polo Diaz wrote:

> Bhaskar's realism is undoubtedly a good complement to 
> Bourdieu's approach. I would suggest, however, that a more 
> sociological complement to Bourdieu's approach is found in 
> the work of A.Sayer. Sayer's methodological arguments are found 
> in his book "Method in Social Research. A Realist Approach" 
> (Routledge: London, 1992). His arguments about the construction 
> of the theoretical object tend to follow the same line than 
> Bhaskar, but with a more sociological emphasis. In these terms 
> it complements and fills the empty spaces left by Bourdieu's 
> "Le metier de sociologue". 
> 
>I agree. I have read some of Bashkar and also used Andrew Sayer's 
book in an integrated methods course I taught here at the university 
of Guelph. Sayer refers to and adknowledges Bashkar and he also 
writes in a clearer, more straight-forward fashion. I also highly 
recommend his book.

I have also gone back and been reading some of Gaston Bachelard's 
work, which gave me a much better understanding of where Bourdieu is 
coming from. I think Bourdieu successfully "transposed" or applied 
Bachelard's key insights to the social realm and to the field of 
social science, in a creative and imaginative manner, while 
recognizing the unique nature of social reality. Since Bachelard has 
written quite a few books (rationalisme applique, philosofie de non 
etc.), I highly recommend Mary Tiles's book on Gaston Bachelard. She 
is an analytical philosopher (a la Russell and Frege), which 
Bachelard is NOT, but she did a very sympathetic and insightful 
explanation of Bachelard's way of thinking and recognized how 
different (but good) is his approach.

I have also come to realize the tremendous influence of Wittgenstein 
on Bourdieu (at least Wittgenstein's later works)

Frans J. Schryer
University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada 














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