Harre's Social Philosophy and Political Philosophy: A Social Scientific Critique

In his article, “Saving Critical Realism,”Harre (2009) relates his revised philosophy of science to a social philosophy concerning the nature of society, and to a political philosophy regarding the nature of freedom and reform. I argue that his social philosophy and political philosophy rest upon an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal for the theory of social behaviour 2009-12, Vol.39 (4), p.448-465
Main Author: RATNER, CARL
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
agency
cultural psychology
Freedom
Individualism
liberation
linguistic turn
Philosophy of science
Political Philosophy
Social change
Social Philosophy
Social sciences
Social structure
structuralism
subjectivism
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Summary:In his article, “Saving Critical Realism,”Harre (2009) relates his revised philosophy of science to a social philosophy concerning the nature of society, and to a political philosophy regarding the nature of freedom and reform. I argue that his social philosophy and political philosophy rest upon an individualistic sense of society and freedom. I demonstrate that his individualism is factually and politically untenable. (I shall not comment on his philosophy of science, although the errors in his social and political philosophies make it suspect.) I counterpose an alternative social philosophy and political philosophy that are based on a structural model of society, freedom, and social change. My critique demonstrates how social science can adjudicate claims of structuralist vs. individualist social and political philosophy. It also argues that social science must constitute the basis for formulating political ideals of freedom and social organization if these are to be viable.
ISSN:0021-8308
1468-5914
DOI:10.1111/j.1468-5914.2009.00415.x