Transcendental realisms in the philosophy of science: on Bhaskar and Cartwright

Realism, empiricism and causal inquiry in International Relations: What is at stake?

“…Outside of such conditions, they continue to act, but the consequences that would be observed under experimental conditions ‘are, owing to the operation of intervening mechanisms or countervailing causes, unrealized’ (Bhaskar, 2008 [1975]: 46). In other words, Bhaskar argues that the ‘exportation of explanations’ (Clarke, 2010: 301) from experimental conditions to everyday conditions is intelligible only if experiments identify something that carries across to open systems. This cannot be regularities because the invariant results observed under experimental conditions are not reproduced outside those conditions.…”

“…Consider, once again, the case of the feather when it falls under everyday conditions. In such cases, Clarke (2010: 302) notes, most ‘scientists don’t hesitate to claim that the universal law of gravity continues to apply’, even though they are ‘unable to incorporate the force of gravity and the forces of wind in an accurate model’. 25 Yet, this does not reveal anything about the world as it is independent of science (see Clarke, 2010: 313–314).…”

“…In such cases, Clarke (2010: 302) notes, most ‘scientists don’t hesitate to claim that the universal law of gravity continues to apply’, even though they are ‘unable to incorporate the force of gravity and the forces of wind in an accurate model’. 25 Yet, this does not reveal anything about the world as it is independent of science (see Clarke, 2010: 313–314). If scientists do suppose that regularities hold outside the conditions under which they are identified, this may amount to no more than a promissory note, indicating an expectation that science will one day be able to model how forces combine in open systems.…”

Why critical realists ought to be transcendental idealists

“…In A Realist Theory of Science Roy Bhaskar (1975) provides several transcendental arguments for critical realisma position Bhaskar himself characterized as transcendental realism (1975, 25; 1998, 2, 5). The validity and success of these transcendental arguments have recently been the topic of a lively debate (see, e.g., Kaidesoja 2017;McWherter 2015McWherter , 2013Clarke 2010;Kaidesoja 2005). Bhaskar's concomitant critique of Kantian transcendental idealism has, in contrast, received less attention in the literature, perhaps because transcendental idealism is still frequently misconstrued as an antiquated and unviable philosophical position.…”