In a recent post, Tom Fryer and Cristián Navarrete (2022) argued that “domains” talk is
confusing and redundant. In response, Dave Elder-Vass contends that we should absorb the domain of the empirical into the domain of the
actual, but keep the distinction between the real and the actual. I will argue instead that there are
considerable reasons to preserve both the concept of domains and a third ontological domain.
Roy Bhaskar’s three domains of reality – the empirical, the actual and the real – are staples of many expositions of critical realism. In their provocative blog post, Tom Fryer and Cristián Navarrete (2022) argue that we should stop using them because they are redundant and confusing. This post engages constructively with their argument.
By Margaret S. Archer Poland has been an outstanding supporter of Critical Realism ever since I started giving Masterclasses in Warsaw, as many will have noted from their hosting of the online IACR conference of 2020. Our colleagues there are… Read More »Critical Realism in Poland
We have three items of news in this guest post from Catherine Hastings 1. The conference website is now live! The 2022 conference will be held in The Hague, The Netherlands 8-9 August Pre-conference PhD workshop programme 10-12 August Conference… Read More »IACR 2022 annual critical realism conference details
Let’s stop talking about the three domains of reality. Controversial stuff, we know. Hear us out though. We really do think we’d be in a better place if we scrapped the idea.
Guest post by Priscilla Alderson. The 2022 critical realism Zoom course for beginners, based on Roy Bhaskar’s course for doctoral students, was convened by Priscilla Alderson and Rob Faure Walker at University College London. It is now on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeod4lGHw8s18DVo7t-w5KQ.… Read More »Videos from UCL course on critical realism
Nominations are now open for the 2022 Cheryl Frank Memorial Prize. Nominations should be made to the IACR General Secretary, Catherine Hastings, catherine.hastings@mq.edu.au by 31 May, 2022. The Cheryl Frank Memorial Prize is awarded annually for a book that constitutes, motivates… Read More »Nominations Open – Cheryl Frank Memorial Prize
A guest post by Steve Ash [Editor’s note: The Centre for Critical Realism is hosting an online book launch event on Tuesday 26 April 2022, where Steve will explain the core argument of his book, then respond to comments from… Read More »Explaining Morality
A guest post by Ruth Groff. Zoom format – March 5th & 6th, 2022. Note the rapidly approaching deadline for submissions: 9th January. The Critical Social Ontology Workshop is an annual interdisciplinary venue for radical thinking about the metaphysics of… Read More »Call for Papers: Critical Social Ontology Workshop
A guest post by Catherine Hastings, Angela Davenport and Karen Sheppard Critical realism can feel overwhelming at the start. There is much richness in Roy Bhaskar’s work and the writing of other researchers and philosophers who have worked with his… Read More »Finding ‘a tribe’ – developing a critical realist ‘underlabouring muscle’