Böcker av Roy Bhaskar

A text of the philosophical movement of critical realism.

Sets out to diagnose and explain all the major - old and new - "problems of philosophy". The book includes a synoptic account of the development of Western philosophy from the pre-Socratics to poststructuralism. It is designed to be both an introductory work and a resource for scholars.

In a wide-ranging survey of the minefields of contemporary philosophy and social thought, Roy Bhaskar develops his own positive and highly original theories of the nature of science and being, social science and history, and philosophical discourse and ideology.Scientific Realism and Human Emancipation starts from an assessment of the impasse of contemporary philosophy of science which stems from an incomplete critique of positivism. It then proceeds to a systematic exposition of scientific realism in the form of transcendental realism. This highlights a conception of science as explanatory of a structured, differentiated and changing world.Turning to the social domain, the book argues for a view of the social order as conditioned by, and emergent from, nature. Advocating a critical naturalism, the author shows how the transformational model of social activity together with the conception of social science as explanatory critique which it entails, resolve the divisions besetting orthodox social and normative theory: between society and the individual, structure and agency, fact and value, and theory and practice.From reviews of the author's previous work:'(Roy Bhaskar's work) stands comparison with the work of the contemporary giants of Marxist philosophy on the continent . . . A unique achievement, and it will no doubt be at the centre of discussion, both English and Continental, for some time to come'. Roy Edgley, The Literary Review'A genuinely original argument in the philosophy of science is a rare thing indeed. Mr Bhaskar has indeed produced a new . . . strong, elaborate and well-integrated . . . elegant and powerful argument'. Rom Harre, Mind

This series of linked essays is an accessible intervention in the current debates about realism which are of increasing significance on both sides of the Atlantic. It is designed to underlabour both for the sciences, especially the human sciences, and for the projects of human emancipation which such sciences may come to inform.Elaborating his own highly original critical realist perspective on society, nature, science and philosophy itself. Roy Bhaskar shows how this new perspective can be used to undermine currently fashionable ideologies of the right and, at the same time. to clear the ground for a reinvigorated left. Reclaiming Reality contains powerful critiques of some of the most important schools of thought and thinkers of our time — from Bachelard and Feyerabend to Rorty and Habermas. It advances novel and convincing resolutions of many traditional philosophical problems.Providing a straightforward and stimulating introduction to current debates in the philosophy of science and of social theory, for the interested lay reader and student alike. this book will be of particular value for all those concerned with the socialist emancipatory project and the renaissance of the Marxist theoretical tradition.

Rev. ed. of: Reflections on meta-reality.

Sets out to develop a critique of the work of Richard Rorty, one of the most influential authors. This title argues that Rorty's account of science and knowledge is based on a half-truth, and that Rorty's problem-field replicates the Kantian resolution of the third antinomy: we are determined as material bodies, but free as discursive subjects.

Includes interviews, which tell a story of the formation and development of critical realism.

Dealing with philosophy of science, this book sets out to revindicate ontology, critiquing the reduction of being in favor of knowledge, which the author calls the "epistemic fallacy".

Dealing with contemporary philosophy, this book sets itself three main aims: the development of a general theory of dialectic, of which Hegelian dialectic can be seen to be a special case; the dialectical enrichment and deepening of critical realism; and the outline of the elements of a totalizing critique of Western philosophy.

Presents an introduction to the increasingly influential multi-disciplinary and international body of thought, known as critical realism. This book contains critiques of some of the most important schools of thought and thinkers and advances novel and convincing resolutions of many traditional philosophical problems.

Offers an assessment of the impasse of contemporary accounts of science as stemming from an incomplete critique of positivism. This book provides a systematic exposition of scientific realism in the form of transcendental realism, highlighting a conception of science as explanatory of a structured, differentiated and changing world.

Diagnoses, explains and resolves the "problems of philosophy". This book reviews: the theory of knowledge and philosophy of science; the philosophy of logic and language; the philosophies of space, time and causality; the philosophy of the social and life sciences and of dialectic; and, ethics, politics and aesthetics.

Attacks purely analytical modes of thinking. Bhaskar develops a critical realist philosophy, which isolates the definition of being in terms of knowledge as the characteristic flaw of traditional philosophy. He argues that critical realism is the basis of a new methodology for the human sciences.

This volume covers the critical realist position which is now widely seen as offering a viable alternative to move positivism and postmodernism.