The uncritical realism of realist evaluation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8126586 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sam Porter (0000-0002-6950-9388, Queen’s University Belfast, NORTHERN IRELAND, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 65-82 |
| Publication date | 2015-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Evaluation (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1356-3890 • E-ISSN: 1461-7153 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1356389014566134 |
| OpenAlex | W2324683801 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 25 |
| References cited | 19 |
This article is a response to Ray Pawson’s critique of critical realism, the philosophy of science elaborated by Roy Bhaskar. I argue with Pawson’s interpretation of critical realism’s positions on both natural and social science and his charges concerning its totalizing ontology, its arrogant epistemology and its naive methodology. The differences between critical realism and realist evaluation are not as significant as Pawson contends. The main differences between the two realisms lie in their approaches to the relationship between social structures and human agency, and between facts and values. I argue that evaluation scientists need to clearly distinguish structure and agency. They should also make their values explicit. The uncritical approach of realist evaluation, combined with its underplaying of the importance of agency, leaves it open to implication in the abuses of bureaucratic instrumentalism
Agency (philosophy · Critical realism (philosophy of perception · Epistemology · Instrumentalism · Interpretation (philosophy · Ontology · Realism · Social ontology · Sociology · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Critical Realism in Sociology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Philosophy
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| Citations per year | 2.27 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2015 - 2026 (12) |
| Highly cited | No |