Realism About Causality in Philosophy and Social Science
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Revitalizing Causality This book is a unique, cross-disciplinary collection of articles by philosophers, social scientists and social theorists who explore, at different levels of abstraction, what it means to invoke causal mechanisms, or powers, in the context of offering a causal explanation. Realism about causality is a compelling neo-Aristotelian alternative to the dominant Humean and Kantian approaches in philosophy and social science. Its proponents argue that causality is neither a misnomer for “constant conjunction” nor the exercise of a cognitive a priori, but rather is a matter of the powers that things have to affect other things. The volume contains both new and previously published articles. It is distinctive in that it is an effort to give broad shape to the emerging challenge to the ontology implicit in positivism and post-structuralism alike. It will be of particular interest to readers of philosophy (metaphysics, philosophy of science, philosophy of social science), sociology, political science, and political economy, as well as to those familiar with critical realism. Ruth Groff is a member of the political science department at the State University of New York. Routledge studies in critical realism Edited by Margaret Archer, Roy Bhaskar, Andrew Collier, Kathryn Dean, Nick Hostettler, Jonathan Joseph, Tony Lawson, Alan Norrie and Sean Vertigan 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 post-modernism. This series will explore the critical realist position in philosophy and across the social sciences. 1 Marxism and Realism 8 On Christian Belief A materialistic application of realism A defence of a cognitive conception of in the social science religious belief in a Christian context Sean Creaven Andrew Collier 2 Beyond Relativism 9 In Defence of Objectivity and Other Cognitive rationality and critical Essays realism Andrew Collier Raymond Boudon and Cynthia Lins Hamlin 10 Realism Discourse and Deconstruction 3 Education Policy and Realist Social Edited by Jonathan Joseph and John Theory Michael Roberts Primary teachers, child-centred philosophy and the new managerialism 11 Critical Realism, Post-positivism Robert Wilmott and the Possibility of Knowledge Ruth Groff 4 Hegemony A realist analysis 12 Defending Objectivity Jonathan Joseph Essays in honour of Andrew Collier Edited by Margaret S Archer and 5 Realism and Sociology William Outhwaite Anti-foundationalism, ontology and social research 13 Ontology of Sex Justin Cruickshank Carrie Hull 6 Critical Realism 14 Explaining Global Poverty The difference it makes A critical realist approach Edited by Justin Cruickshank Branwen Gruffyd-Jones 7 Critical Realism and Composition 15 Contributions to Social Ontology Theory Edited by Clive Lawson, John Latsis Donald Judd and Nuno Martins 16 Emergentist Marxism 18 Revitalizing Causality Dialectical philosophy and social Realism about causality in philosophy theory and social science Sean Creaven Edited by Ruth Groff 17 Engendering the State The international diffusion of women’s human rights Lynn Savery Also published by Routledge: Critical realism: Interventions Edited by Margaret Archer, Roy Bhaskar, Andrew Collier, Kathryn Dean, Nick Hostettler, Jonathan Joseph, Tony Lawson, Alan Norrie and Sean Vertigan Critical Realism Explaining Society Essential readings Critical realism in the social sciences Edited by Margaret Archer, Roy Berth Danermark, Mats Ekström, Jan Bhaskar, Andrew Collier, Tony Lawson Ch. Karlsson and Liselotte Jakobsen and Alan Norrie Critical Realism and Marxism The Possibility of Naturalism Edited by Andrew Brown, Steve 3rd edition Fleetwood and John Michael Roberts A philosophical critique of the contemporary human sciences Critical Realism in Economics Roy Bhaskar Edited by Steve Fleetwood Being and Worth Realist Perspectives on Management Andrew Collier and Organisations Edited by Stephen Ackroyd and Steve Quantum Theory and the Flight from Fleetwood Realism Philosophical responses to quantum After International Relations mechanics Critical realism and the (re)construction Christopher Norris of world politics Heikki Patomaki From East to West Odyssey of a soul Capitalism and Citizenship Roy Bhaskar The impossible partnership Kathryn Dean Realism and Racism Concepts of race in sociological research Philosophy of Language and the Bob Carter Challenge to Scientific Realism Christopher Norris Rational Choice Theory Resisting colonisation Edited by Margaret Archer and Jonathan Q. Tritter Transcendence Making Realism Work Critical realism and God Realist social theory and empirical Margaret S. Archer, Andrew Collier research and Douglas V. Porpora Edited by Bob Carter and Caroline New Critical Realist Applications in Organisation and Management Rethinking Marxism Studies From Kant and Hegel to Marx and Edited by Steve Fleetwood and Engels Stephen Ackroyd Jolyon Agar Revitalizing Causality Realism about causality in philosophy and social science Edited by Ruth Groff First published 2008 by Routledge 2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2008 Edited by Ruth Groff All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized 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 Revitalizing causality: realism about causality in philosophy and social science / edited by Ruth Groff. p. cm. 1. Causation. 2. Social sciences–Philosophy. 3. Critical realism. I. Groff, Ruth, 1963– BD541.R48 2007 122–dc22 2007029183 ISBN 0-203-93263-3 Master e-book ISBN ISBN10:0-415-37218-6(hbk) ISBN10: 0-203-93263-3 (ebk) ISBN13: 978-0-415-37218-3 (hbk) ISBN13: 978-0-203-93263-6 (ebk) For Helen Splaver Contents List of contributors xi Acknowledgements xv Introduction: realism about causality 1 RUTH GROFF PART I Key formulations 11 1 Critical realism and substance 13 ROY WOOD SELLARS 2 Causality and substance 26 ROY WOOD SELLARS 3 Essence and accident 45 IRVING M. COPI 4 Conceptual and natural necessity 56 ROM HARRE AND E. H. MADDEN 5 Powers and dispositions 76 BRIAN ELLIS PART II Realism about causality in philosophy 93 6 Meaning, truth, and causal explanation: the ‘Humean condition’ revisited 95 CHRISTOPHER NORRIS x Contents 7 Aristotelian powers 129 CHARLOTTE WITT 8 Powers, dispositions, properties or a causal realist manifesto 139 STEPHEN MUMFORD 9 Inessential Aristotle: powers without essences 152 ANJAN CHAKRAVARTTY 10 Causal exclusion and evolved emergent properties 163 ALEXANDER BIRD 11 Are there natural kinds in psychology? 179 RACHEL COOPER PART III Realism about causality in social science 193 12 Sociology’s causal confusion 195 DOUGLAS V. PORPORA 13 The mother of all “isms”: organizing political science around causal mechanisms 205 ANDREW BENNETT 14 Marxian crisis theory and causality 220 ROBERT ALBRITTON 15 On the clear comprehension of political economy: social kinds and the significance of Section 2 of Marx’s Capital 242 HOWARD ENGELSKIRCHEN Index 261 Contributors Robert Albritton, York University, Department of Political Science, Emeritus. He writes on dialectics, political economy and subjectivity. His books and edited collections include: Economics Transformed: Discovering the Brilliance of Marx (2007); Dialectics and Deconstruction in Political Economy (1999); A Japanese Reconstruction of Marxist Theory (l986); A Japanese Approach to Stages of Capitalist Development (1991); The Political Economy of the Present and Possible Global Future, ed. with Bob Jessop and Richard Westra (2007); New Socialisms: Futures Beyond Globalization ed. with John Bell, Shannon Bell, Richard Westra (2004); New Dialectics and Political Economy, ed. with John Simoulidis (2003). Recent articles include: “Theorising Capital’s Deep Structure and the Transformation of Capitalism,” Historical Materialism, Vol. 12, No. 3; “Returning to Marx’s Capital: A Critique of Lebowitz’s Beyond Capital,” History of Economic Ideas, Vol. XI, No. 3; “How Dialectics Runs Aground: The Antinomies of Arthur’s Dialectic of Capital,” Historical Materialism (2005); “Subjectivity in Capitalist Culture,” The Journal of Critical Realism (2004); “Marx’s Value Theory and Class Struggle: A Rejoinder to Lebowitz,” History of Economic Ideas (2004). Andrew Bennett, Georgetown University, Department of Government. He spe- cializes in international relations and qualitative research methods. Forthcoming and recent works include: Case Studies and Theory Development, with Alexander George, MIT Press; “A Lakatosian Reading of Lakatos: What Can We Salvage from the Hard Core?” in Elman and Elman (eds.), Progress In International Relations Theory: Metrics and Methods of Scientific Change (2003); “Do We Preach What We Practice? A Survey of Methods in Political Science Journals and Curricula,” with Aharon