From: glevy@PRATT.EDU
Date: Mon Mar 06 2006 - 09:33:33 EST
From the Critical-Realism mailing list. I have cleaned-up Harvey's post by correcting a few typos. / In solidarity, Jerry ---------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------- Subject: Bhaskar message, Re [Critical-Realism] Historical Materialism -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Mervyn Hartwig wrote: >> Hi Ismail >> Bhaskar's view, which I share, is that the mature Marx is a scientific >> realist and (dialectical) critical naturalist in the CR sense; i.e.the >> philosophy implicitly informing his work is basically similar to CR. >> (This doesn't mean that it isn't also consistent with other research >> programmes). >> So all you have to do is figure out the basic CR positions on persons, >> society, geo-history, etc. and you have the specific homologies. >> Plus figure out which ones show a direct influence - e.g. the >> conception of society as an ensemble of social relations comes from >> Marx. Bhaskar assesses and critiques Marx in some detail in DPF. >> Hope this helps. >> Mervyn >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "i.lagardien-alumni" <snip, JL> >> Hi Everyone >> Can someone identify, or clarify specific homologies between Critical >> Realism and Historical Materialism, please. >> Ismail <snip, JL> As a Critical Marxist, I can only second Mervyn's evaluation of Marx and Critical Realism. I have found Bhaskar's work immensely helpful in framing my sociological analysis. His TMSA is especially useful in that it demands a material concreteness that dialectical sense that often disciplines my research. I would venture a guess--and elict comment as well--that Bhaskar's work performs ahomologous function similar to that played by the triad of Wittgenstein/Sraffa/ Gramsci in the thirties and forties in reframing Marxist thought. Lastly, and most germane from a purely professional promotion perspective, Bhaskar, along with Talcott Parsons and Pierre Bourdieu, also serves as a valuable scapegoat when I screw up my analysis.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Tue Mar 07 2006 - 00:00:01 EST