Divergences and crossovers: Response to Robert Wilson’s ‘Thinking about relations’

Abstract

Robert Wilson’s ‘Thinking about Relations’ pays welcome attention to the metaphysical demands of social science. At the same time, this response raises further issues concerning the concept of objectivity, assumptions about the nature of kinship and arguments over non-reductive explanation. It places particular emphasis on the (culturally) mediating role of description; that relations are axiomatically conceived as ‘between’ entities is offered as a case in point.