Defending Objectivity: Essays in Honour of Andrew Collier PDF
Preview Defending Objectivity: Essays in Honour of Andrew Collier
Defending Objectivity Andrew Collier is the boldest defender of objectivity – in science, knowledge, thought, action, politics, morality and religion. In this tribute to Andrew, his colleagues acknowledge the influence he has had upon them. They show that they have been challenged by his thinking and, in turn, offer challenging responses to him. This wide-ranging book covers key areas with which defenders of objectivity often have to engage. Sections are devoted to the following: • The ‘Objectivity of value’ – are things of value in the world, independently of the labels we subjectively attach to them? • ‘Objectivity and everyday knowledge’ – do our workday practices possess an objectivity which our theories do not, or vice versa? • ‘Objectivity and materialism’ – does that which is materially based have a special claim to being objective? • ‘Objectivity in political economy’ – is the moral dimension systematically distorted in economic and social theory and can such a claim be substan- tiated? • ‘Objectivity and reflexivity’ – can we reason and reason reflexively without undermining the very objectivity we seek to defend? • ‘Objectivity, postmodernism and feminism’ – can these common attacks upon objectivity remain coherent or are they necessarily self-undermining? • ‘Objectivity and nature’ – is appreciation of nature or advocacy of deep ecology dependent upon the objective value of the natural world? The diverse contributions range from social and political thought to philosophy, reflecting the central themes of Collier’s work. Margaret S. Archer is Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick. She is a Trustee of the Centre for Critical Realism. William Outhwaite is Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex. He is an associate editor of the European Journal of Social Theory. Critical realism: interventions Edited by Margaret Archer, Roy Bhaskar, Andrew Collier, Nick Hostettler, Tony Lawson and Alan Norrie. Critical realism is one of the most influential new developments in the philosophy of science and in the social sciences, providing a powerful alternative to positivism and postmodernism. This series will explore the critical realist position in philos- ophy and across the social sciences. Critical realism Rational Choice Theory Essential readings Resisting colonisation Edited by Margaret Archer, Roy Bhaskar, Edited by Margaret Archer and Andrew Collier, Tony Lawson and Alan Norrie Jonathan Q. Tritter The Possibility of Naturalism Explaining Society (3rd edition) Critical realism in the social sciences A philosophical critique of the Berth Danermark, Mats Ekström, Jan Ch. contemporary human sciences Karlsson and Liselotte Jakobsen Roy Bhaskar Critical Realism and Marxism Being and Worth Edited by Andrew Brown, Steve Fleetwood Andrew Collier and John Michael Roberts Quantum Theory and the Flight Critical Realism in Economics from Realism Edited by Steve Fleetwood Philosophical responses to quantum mechanics Realist Perspectives on Christopher Norris Management and Organisations Edited by Stephen Ackroyd and From East to West Steve Fleetwood Odyssey of a soul Roy Bhaskar After International Relations Critical realism and the Realism and Racism (re)construction of world politics Concepts of race in sociological Heikki Patomaki research Bob Carter Capitalism and Citizenship Realism and Sociology The impossible partnership Anti-foundationalism, ontology and Kathryn Dean social research Justin Cruickshank Philosophy of Language and the Challenge to Scientific Realism Critical Realism Christopher Norris The difference it makes Edited by Justin Cruickshank Transcendence Critical realism and God Critical Realism and Margaret S. Archer, Andrew Collier and Composition Theory Douglas V. Porpora Donald Judd Also published by Routledge On Christian Belief A defence of a cognitive conception of Routledge studies religious belief in a Christian context in critical realism Andrew Collier Edited by Margaret Archer, Roy Bhaskar, Andrew Collier, Nick Hostettler, Tony In Defence of Objectivity and Lawson and Alan Norrie. Other Essays Andrew Collier Marxism and Realism A materialistic application of realism Realism, Discourse and in the social science Deconstruction Sean Creaven Edited by Jonathan Joseph and John Michael Roberts Beyond Relativism Raymond Boudon, cognitive Critical Realism, Post- rationality and critical realism positivism and the Possibility of Cynthia Lins Hamlin Knowledge Ruth Groff Education Policy and Realist Social Theory Defending Objectivity Primary teachers, child-centred Essays in honour of Andrew Collier philosophy and the new Edited by Margaret S. Archer managerialism and William Outhwaite Robert Wilmott Hegemony A realist analysis Jonathan Joseph Defending Objectivity Essays in honour of Andrew Collier Edited by Margaret S. Archer and William Outhwaite First published in 2004 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004. © 2004 Margaret S. Archer and William Outhwaite selection and editorial matter; individual chapters the contributors All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this title has been requested. ISBN 0-203-43397-1 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-67979-2 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0–415–338239(Print Edition) Contents Notes on contributors xi Foreword xv PART I Encounters with Andrew Collier 1 1 A considerable realist: a personal and intellectual tribute to Andrew Collier 3 ROY BHASKAR 2 Losing the plot 14 RUTH MERTTENS PART II Critiques of counter-objectivity 31 3 Objectivity, postmodernism and biographical understanding: Andrew Collier on R.D. Laing 33 RAY MONK 4 Objectivity and phallogocentrism 48 DOUGLAS V. PORPORA PART III The objectivity of value 61 5 The objectivity of value 63 ALISON ASSITER viii Contents 6 Commerce and the language of value 75 JOHN O’NEILL 7 Restoring the moral dimension in social scientific accounts: a qualified ethical naturalist approach 93 ANDREW SAYER PART IV Objectivity and everyday knowledge 115 8 Objectivity and the growth of knowledge 117 MARGARET S. ARCHER 9 Practical knowledge and realism: linking Andrew Collier on lay knowledge to Karl Popper on the philosophy of science 129 JUSTIN CRUICKSHANK 10 Being and knowledge 143 JONATHAN JOSEPH PART V Objectivity and materialism 159 11 Towards objectivity: from Kant to Marx 161 JOLYON AGAR 12 The contradictions of capital 183 CHRISTOPHER J. ARTHUR 13 Understanding objectivity in a material world 199 PHIL WALDEN Contents ix PART VI Objectivity and reflexivity 211 14 Reason and its own self-undoing? 213 ALAN MONTEFIORE 15 Intentional and reflexive objectivity: some reflections 226 WILLIAM OUTHWAITE PART VII Objectivity and nature 237 16 Realism about the value of nature? Andrew Collier’s environmental philosophy 239 TED BENTON 17 Objectivity, experience and the aesthetic of nature 251 KATE SOPER Index 261
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