Core Insight
Critical realism, primarily developed by Roy Bhaskar, offers a stratified ontology that distinguishes between the empirical (what we observe), the actual (events that occur), and the real (underlying causal mechanisms). This framework provides a middle path between naive empiricism and constructivism.
Three Domains of Reality
The Empirical: What we can observe and measure
- Experimental results, survey data, observable behaviors
- Always partial and theory-laden
- The domain of traditional empiricism
The Actual: Events that occur (whether observed or not)
- Real happenings in the world
- May not be directly observable
- Includes counterfactual events
The Real: Underlying causal mechanisms and structures
- Powers, tendencies, and capacities of objects
- May be inactive or counteracted by other mechanisms
- The fundamental level that generates events
Implications for Research
Methodological Pluralism
Critical realism supports using different methods to access different levels:
- Quantitative: Good for identifying patterns in the empirical domain
- Qualitative: Better for understanding actual events and real mechanisms
- Mixed methods: Can triangulate across domains
Explanation vs Prediction
- Focus shifts from prediction (empiricist goal) to explanation of underlying mechanisms
- Retroduction: Working backwards from effects to likely causes
- Understanding why something works, not just that it works
Personal Application
This framework helps me think about my trilingual cognition research:
- Empirical: Reaction times, error rates in experiments
- Actual: Cognitive switching events, interference patterns
- Real: Underlying neural mechanisms, cultural-linguistic structures
It also informs my Nepal-based research approach—understanding how local contexts (real domain) generate specific social patterns (actual) that may differ from what surveys capture (empirical).
Tensions and Questions
Realism vs Social Construction: How do we balance acknowledgment of real structures with recognition that human meanings shape social reality?
Access Problem: If real mechanisms are often unobservable, how do we avoid speculation while doing more than describing patterns?
Cultural Specificity: Are the causal mechanisms we identify universal, or do they vary across cultural contexts? This is particularly relevant for cognitive science research.
Connection to Current Work
Critical realism provides a philosophical foundation for:
- Interpretive social science: Taking seriously both social construction and underlying structures
- Cross-cultural research: Understanding how universal mechanisms manifest differently in different contexts
- Methodological choices: Justifying why different research questions require different approaches
This framework helps bridge the gap between rigorous scientific methodology and recognition of interpretive complexity—essential for research that spans cultures and disciplines.