Topic 4 Methodological Epistemological Foundations of Critical Social

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北京师范大学研究生课程 教育研究的基础:方法论、知识论及本体论 Topic 4 Methodological & Epistemological Foundations of Critical Social Sciences

北京师范大学研究生课程 教育研究的基础:方法论、知识论及本体论 Topic 4 Methodological & Epistemological Foundations of Critical Social Sciences

Traditions of Critical Theory: A Brief Account z Immanuel Kant’s critical theories in transcendental

Traditions of Critical Theory: A Brief Account z Immanuel Kant’s critical theories in transcendental idealism: Immanuel Kant (1724 -1804) may be considered as the first critical theorist of the modern philosophy

Traditions of Critical Theory: A Brief Account z Kant’s critical theories … y In

Traditions of Critical Theory: A Brief Account z Kant’s critical theories … y In his famous essay on “What is Enlightenment? ” (1784), Kant celebrates the human capacities of liberating from dogmatism and tutelage and to reason independently and self-reflectively. "Enlightenment is man's release from his self-incurred tutelage. Tutelage is man's inability to make use of his understanding without direction from another. Selfincurred is this tutelage when its cause lies not in lack of reason but in lack of resolution and courage to use it without direction from another. Sapere aude (Dare to know)! 'Have courage to use your own reason!' - that is the motto of enlightenment. " (Kant, 1996/1784)

Traditions of Critical Theory: A Brief Account z Kant’s critical theories … y Accordingly,

Traditions of Critical Theory: A Brief Account z Kant’s critical theories … y Accordingly, Kant had produced a series of books to apply his formulation of critical reasoning to different domains of human intellectualities, namely theoretical reasons seeking truth, practical reasons seeking ethical-moral goods, and aesthetic-teleological reasons seeking judgment on beauty and substantive ends. Accordingly, he published three books respectively entitled x. Critique of Pure Reason (1781) x. Critique of Practical Reason (1788), and x. Critique of Judgment (1790)

Traditions of Critical Theory: A Brief Account z Kant’s critical theories … y Taking

Traditions of Critical Theory: A Brief Account z Kant’s critical theories … y Taking together the three critiques, Kant attempts to elevate human reasons to the transcendental and universal level. That is to seek the transcendental principles guiding human reasons in epistemological enquiries, in ethic-moral practices, and aestheticteleological judgments. Kant’s critical project has been characterized in philosophy as transcendental idealism. That is because he has built his three critical projects on separate sets of transcendental ideas, which will not be explicated in details in this course.

Traditions of Critical Theory: A Brief Account z Karl Marx’s critical theory in historical

Traditions of Critical Theory: A Brief Account z Karl Marx’s critical theory in historical materialism Karl Marx (1818 -1883) is one of the prominent critical theorists of the nineteenth century. He directs his reflective and critical reason on one specific aspect of human society in the nineteenth century’s Europe, namely the capitalistic-industrial mode of production. As a result, Marx has produced a series of strong critique of the political-economy of capitalism in the nineteenth–century’s Western Europe.

Traditions of Critical Theory: A Brief Account z Karl Marx’s critical theory in historical

Traditions of Critical Theory: A Brief Account z Karl Marx’s critical theory in historical materialism …Most notably, his critiques on y. The exploitative nature of the class relationship of capitalism y. The alienating and reifying effects of the commodification process on human existence in the capitalistic mode of production y. The ideological and hegemonic distortions on cultural context of capitalism

Traditions of Critical Theory: A Brief Account z Max Weber’s critical theory on Rationalism:

Traditions of Critical Theory: A Brief Account z Max Weber’s critical theory on Rationalism: Max Weber (1864 -1920) is one of the founding father of sociology and a critical theorist of the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His critical theory is mostly built on his critique of the rationalization of Western European societies. For example, (To be expounded in details in Topic 6) y. The domination or even hegemony of the instrumental rationality; and y. The reified iron cage upon the existence of the modern man.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of the Institute of

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of the Institute of Social Research in Frankfurt School: Critical Theory (in capital letter) is commonly designated to theoretical and methodological orientations initiated by a group of scholars in the Institute of Social Research in the University of Frankfurt. The Institute was founded in 1923. As the Nazi assumed power in Germany in January 1933, the institute was forced to leave Germany and finally settled in New York and affiliated with Columbia University in 1934.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of the Institute of

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of the Institute of Social Research in Frankfurt School: …. Work produced by the leading scholars of the Institute, such as Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno and Herbert Marcuse focused mainly on critical examination of human reason and its potentiality as well as fallibility.

Theodor Adorno (1903 -1969) Herbert Marcuse (1898 -1979) Max Horkheimer (1895 -1973)

Theodor Adorno (1903 -1969) Herbert Marcuse (1898 -1979) Max Horkheimer (1895 -1973)

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: … y. Max Horkheimer’s distinction between Traditional Theory and Critical Theory: Horkheimer, as the founding director of the Institute for Social Research, has explicitly laid down the methodological and epistemological differences between Critical Theory, the research orientation of which the Institute of Social Research has identified with, and what Horkheimer labelled Traditional Theory, which dominates the intellectual scenery of Western Europe in the twentieth century. (Horkheimer, 1982, Pp. 188 -252) …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: … y…distinction between Traditional &Critical Theory: x Traditional Theory: Horkheimer points out that according to the epistemological orientation of Traditional Theory, theory is a configuration of interconnected propositions stipulating a specific aspect of the world. The validity of theory depends on whether the contents of its propositions finds correspondence and consonance with the actual facts in the external world. The methodological assumption of the Traditional Theory presuppose that the nomological regularities verified in empirical-analytical science are objectively existed and given. ….

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: … y…distinction between Traditional &Critical Theory: x Traditional Theory: …. At the same time it is assumed that the interpretations and meanings revealed from historical-hermeneutic studies are necessary and authentic representations of the lifeworld. Hence, in Traditional Theory, knowledge is taken as ahistorical, decontextual and interest-neutral products of human reasons.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: … y…distinction between Traditional &Critical Theory: … x Critical Theory: In opposite to the epistemological orientation of the Traditional Theory, Critical Theory views theory and its propositions as intellectual products embedded in particular historical and socio-economic contexts. “The critical theory of society…has for its object men as producers of their own historical way of life in its totality. The real situations which are the starting-point of science are not regarded simply as data to be verified and to be predicted according to the law of probability. Every datum depends not on nature alone but also on the power man has over it. Objects, the kind of perception, the questions asked, and the meaning of the answers all bear witness to human activities and the degree of man’s power. ” (Horkheimer, 1982, P. 244) …. .

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: … y…distinction between Traditional &Critical Theory: … x Critical Theory: …. Accordingly, the social world to be studied is no longer assumed as given or fixed. “The critical theory in its concept formation and in all phases of its development very consciously makes its own that concern for the rational organization of human activities which it is its task to illumine and legitimate. For this theory is not concerned only with goals already imposed by the existent way of life, but with men and all their potentialities. ” (Horkheimer, 1982, P. 245) Therefore, critical theory “never aims simply at an increase of knowledge. Its goal is man’s emancipation from slavery. ” (Horkheimer, 1982, p. 246)

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: … y Max Horkheimer’s critique on pure reason and formal logic: Taking the assumption that human reasons are embedded in particular historical-social contexts and at the same time embodied in specific subjectivities, Horkheim accordingly wages his critiques on pure reason and formal logic. …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: … y …critique on pure reason and formal logic: … x Max Horkheimer critique on Immanuel Kant's famous theses on “critique of reason” by asserting that the assumptions on " transcendental ego", “decontextualized self” and "pure reason" are spurious in the light of Critical Theory. He emphasizes that "it is the human being who thinks, not the Ego or Reason…. [And that] is not something abstract, such as the human essence, but always human beings living in a particular historical epoch. " (Horkheimer, 1968, p. 145; quoted in Hoy and Mc. Carthy, 1995, p. 9) Accordingly, critical theorists must strive to guard against the “impure reason” that may be spawned from particular historical and social contexts in which thinkers and researchers embedded.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: … y …critique on pure reason and formal logic: … x By the same taken, Horkheimer also waged his critique on formal logic. He argued that human reason should not merely on formal logic but must include the part on substantive logic. “Horkhiemer wrote: ‘Logic is not independent of content. ’ (Horkhiemer, 1934)…Formalism characteristic of …bourgeois logic, had once been progressive, but it is now served only to perpetuate the status quo. True logic, as well as true rationalism, must go beyond form to include substantive element as well. ” (Jay, 1973, p. 55)

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: … y. Dialectic of Enlightenment: One of the exemplar research of the Critical Theory is the study conducted by Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno is to analyze how human reason has fallen into the Nazi rule. The research project commenced at the end of the WWII with its objective as follows:

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School “The dilemma that faced us in our

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School “The dilemma that faced us in our work proves to be the first phenomenon for investigation: the self-destruction of the Enlightenment. . The fallen nature of modern man cannot be separate from social progress. On the one hand the growth of economic productivity furnishes the conditions for greater justice; on the other hand it allows the technical apparatus and the social groups which administer it a disproportionate superiority to the rest of the population. The individual is wholly devalued in relation to the economic powers, which at the same time press the control of society over nature to hitherto unsuspected heights. ” (Horkhiemer and Adorno, 1986/44, p. xiii-xv)

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: … y. The project of “Studies in Prejudice”: Fronted by the “facts” produced by the Nazi’s project of Anti. Semitism, members of the Frankfurt School migrated to the US launched a large scale empirical project “Studies in Prejudice” to investigate how individual as well as social reasons are distorted and biased. The project had produced five publications.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Critical Theory of Frankfurt School: … y. The project of “Studies in Prejudice”: …The project had produced five publications. x Adorno, Theodor W. , E. Frenkel-Burnswick, D. J. Levinson and R. N. Sanford (1950) The Authoritarian Personality. New York: Harper & brothers. x Bettelheim, Bruno and M. Janowitz (1950) Dynamics of Prejudice. New York: Harper & brothers. x Ackerman and M. Jahoda (1950) Anti-Semitism and Emotional Disorder. New York: Harper & brothers. x Massing, Paul (1949) Rehearsal for Destruction. New York: Harper & brothers. x Lowenthal, Leo and N. Guterman (1949) Prophets of Deceit. New York: Harper & brothers.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Jurgen Habermas’ critical social science: As

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Jurgen Habermas’ critical social science: As a prominent members of second generation of Critical Theorists of the Frankfurt School, Jurgen Habermas in his Frankfurt inaugural address in 1965 summarized the development of research projects of Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School, which he renamed as the “critical social science” as follows.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Jurgen Habermas’ critical social science: …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Jurgen Habermas’ critical social science: … y“Critical social science …is concerned with going beyond this goal to determine when theoretical statements grasp invariant regularities of social action as such and when they express ideologically frozen relations of dependence that can in principle be transformed. To the extent that this is the case, the critique of ideology, as well, moreover, as psychoanalysis, take into account that information about lawlike connections sets off a process of reflection in the consciousness of those whom the law are about. ….

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Jurgen Habermas’ critical social science: …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Jurgen Habermas’ critical social science: … y“. …. Thus the level of unreflected consciousness, which is one of the initial conditions of such laws, can be transform. Of course, to this end a critically mediated knowledge of laws cannot through reflection alone render a law itself inoperative, but it can render it inapplicable.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Jurgen Habermas’ critical social science: …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z Jurgen Habermas’ critical social science: … y“The methodological framework that determines the meaning of the validity of critical propositions of this category is established by concept of self-reflection. The latter releases the subject from dependence on hypostatized powers. Self-reflection is determined by an emancipatory cognitive interest. ” (Habermas, 1971, P. 310)

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The distinctiveness of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The distinctiveness of the critical social science: With references of precedent discussion, we may conclude that the critical social science has developed into an independent methodological approach and epistemological perspective distinct itself from the analytical empirical science and historical hermeneutic traditions in numbers of significant ways.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The distinctiveness of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The distinctiveness of the critical social science: y. In contrast with the analytical-empirical science on the research outcomes of finding nomological or probabilistic regularities of the social world, critical social scientists will not settle with these regularities as they are but will strive to reveal the possible power hypostatized within these regularities and social structure. Furthermore, they will try to reveal the possible social inequality, bias, distortion, and oppression, which have been institutionalized and legitimatized by these social regularities and structures.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The distinctiveness of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The distinctiveness of the critical social science: y. Critical social science agree with historicalhermeneutic tradition on the research outcomes of retrieving the meanings encoded in different representations. Critical social scientists would even accept the existence of meaning configurations constituted in the forms of institutions, traditions, and cultures, which perpetuate resiliently and continuously. ….

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The distinctiveness of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The distinctiveness of the critical social science: y…. However, they will not settle within interpretations at this level, but will try to reveal the possible ideology and false consciousness underlying these meaning configurations. Furthermore, they will attempt to reveal the possible distortion, alienation and reification, which have been frozen and legitimatized in these meaning configurations.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The distinctiveness of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The distinctiveness of the critical social science: y. Accordingly, critical social scientists will not satisfied with providing correct predictions about social regularities or rendering understanding about social practices, they will try to develop human potentialities, to emancipate them from slavery, and to seek possibility for social betterments.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social science: Given the above explications of the methodological approach to critical social science, we may summarize the approach into the following research questions.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social science: y. Critique of the impurity and fallibility of reason: One of the primary research questions confronting the critical social scientists is to go beyond the selfconfident or even self-complacent belief in human’s own reason and rationality, and reflectively confront the fallibility or even detrimental effects of reason on humanity and the lifeworld. Habermas has summarized the efforts of critical theorists’ reflections on human‘s own reason and rationality and especially its fallible and detrimental efforts as “rationalization as reificaion” (Habermas, 1987/1981, P. 379)

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social science: y. Critique of the impurity and fallibility of reason: …. …. They include x. Karl Marx’s critique on rationalization of mode of production by the bourgeoisie, which led to the rise of capitalism and its reification of human labor and alienation of human production. x. Max Weber’s extended the critique on Occidental rationalization by not only examining its effects on production but reflecting on modern society at large. This is especially significant in Weber’s examine the reifying effects of bureaucratization of human organization in general, which Weber has characterized as the constitution of the “iron cage”.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social science: y. Critique of the impurity and fallibility of reason: …. …. They include x. The first-generation critical theorists of the Frankfurt School have further developed this line of critique on rationalization in modern society by empirically inquiring into the detrimental effects of rationalization manifested during the two World Wars.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social science: y. Critique of the impurity and fallibility of reason: …. …. They include x. Jurgen Haberma, in his two-volume work Theory of Communicative Action (1984 & 1987) has summarized the general effects of Occidental rationalization into the constitutions of the capitalist market and the modern state. He has further underlined the two imperatives that both the market and the state have imposed upon human existence and their communal lives (the Lifeworld), namely the money steering and power-steering imperatives. Habermas finally stipulates that these two systemic imperatives have not only colonized the Lifeowrld but have also reified the very communicative rationality that men possess.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social science: y. Critique of human subjects and their subjectivity: Based on the assumption of the embeddedness of human reasons in their historical and social context, critical social scientists stipulate that one should turn their critical examinations to the inquirers themselves. That is because “knowing and acting subjects are social and embodied beings, and the products of their thought and action bear ineradicable traces of their situations and interests. ” (Mc. Carthy, 1991, P. 44) …. .

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social science: y Critique of human subjects and their subjectivity: … Accordingly, one line of inquiry within the criticaltheory tradition is to reflect and examine the reification of the subjectivity and consciousness of the “modern man”. Follow the lead of Freund’s psychoanalysis, the first generation of the critical theorists such as Eric Fromm and Herbert Marcuse have produced a series of work on the reification of subjectivity of the modern man x. Eric Fromm (1941) Escape from Freedom, and x. Herbert Marcuse (1964) One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social science: … y Critique of transcendental truth and the emphasis on the practical truth: x Under the epistemological assumption that both the knowers and their attained knowledge are historically and socially embedded, critical social scientists refute the concept of truth of transcendental idealism formulated by Kant. That is truths are no longer conceived as essences in human knowledge which universally, permanently and transcendentally exist. Instead, the reality of social world is conceived as the outcomes of human practices which have been vindicated, validated, accumulated and even legitimatized in daily social interactions across time and space with a “Lifeworld”. …

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social science: … y …. emphasis on the practical truth: x As a result, the truth claims of any knowledge about any aspects of a social world must be tested against the practical validity, which is to be found in the correspondent social interactions within the relevant aspects of a specific “Lifeworld”. Hence, truths are no longer to be sought after as something universal and transcendental, but must be revealed from social practices within particular historical and social contexts. The traditional oppositions between theory and practice, theoretical science and practical science, facts and values, and more specifically the primacy of theory over practice, are therefore invalid demarcations to critical social scientists. (Mc. Cathy, 1991, Pp. 44 -45)

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social science: y. Critique of prevailing social reality and emphasis on social possibilities and potentialities: For critical social scientists, social world is configuration produced by human efforts, therefore it is assumed that there may be “power hypostatized” and “ideology frozen” within this seemly permanent social structures and regularities. As a result, two of the major areas of inquiry of critical social sciences are x. Critical inquiry of social power x. Critical inquiry of ideology and hegemony.

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social

The Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School z The paradigm of the critical social science: y. Critique of prevailing social reality and emphasis on social possibilities and potentialities: … Along these two lines of inquiry, one the primary objectives of critical social inquiries is to reveal the possible systemic distortions and biases prevailing in existing social structures and representations. Subsequently, critical social scientists are obliged to seek out possible way to emancipate human potentialities that are trapped and suppressed by these systemic distortions.

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Models of explanation in social

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Models of explanation in social sciences: So far we have covered three methodological approaches and epistemological perspectives, it is revealed that each of them apply different modes of explanation to account for the social phenomena under study. y. Nomological causal explanation: It refers to the explanatory models, which aim to provide law-like explanation in the form of antecedent cause and subsequent effect causation to the social phenomena under study. To a less extent, it substantiates at least probabilistic covariance connection between two 48 variables under study.

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Models of explanation in social

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Models of explanation in social sciences: …. y. Teleological explanation: it refers to the explanatory models, which attempt to provide intentional explanation to human actions. It intends not to trace antecedent causes for human action but motives and intentions at work behind given action aiming to the future. Under the working assumption that humans are rational actions, this explanatory models has been modified into what is now commonly known as rational-choice model. Furthermore, there is also another kind of explanatory model generally called quasi-teleological explanation in use in social sciences, which render explanations for social actions in macroscopic scale in the formats of 49 functional and institutional accounts.

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Models of explanation in social

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Models of explanation in social sciences: …. y Explanatory critique: As for critical social scientists, they have employed yet another kind of explanatory model, which the critical realists named “explanatory critique”. 50

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z What is explanatory critique? y.

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z What is explanatory critique? y. As formulated by Critical Theorists, such as Horkheimer and Habermas, they are not contented with verifying causality or/and revealing meanings, intentions and values in accounting for social activities; they intends to go beyond the regularities and persistence found in social structures and/or belief-systems and look for the possible systemic biases, injustice, and false believes (i. e. ideologies) at work behind these social regularities. 51

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z What is explanatory critique? y.

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z What is explanatory critique? y. . . y. Having revealed the systemic biases and ideologies, critical social scientists would feel obliged to criticize the “incorrectness”, injustice, and social ills found in the phenomena under study. y. Lastly, in order to justify their critique, critical social scientists must elevate their explanatory tasks from empirical-causal explanations and/or interpretiveintentional/functional explanations to the level of “explanatory critique”, i. e. to provide explanations for their critiques. 52

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative ground for the critical social science: y. In the last section of the concluding chapter of the two -volume work Theory of Communicative Theory, Jurgen Habermas underlines that “In this work I have tried to introduce a theory of communicative action that clarifies the normative foundation of the critical theory of society. ” (Habermas, 1987, P. 396 -7)… 53

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative ground for the critical social science: y… This quotation underlines that one of the essential “task of a critical theory” is to provide “the normative foundation of the critical theory of society. ” And the normative foundation that Habermas renders for his own critical theory is exactly theory of communicative action, rationality and ethics. (Habermas, 1984 & 1987) 54

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative ground for the critical social science: y. Accordingly, in reviewing any critical theories and the explanatory critiques they provided, one must look for the normative foundation on which the explanatory critiques and evaluations are based. For examples, 55

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative ground for the critical social science: y. Marx’s normative foundation of explanatory critique: Karl Marx builds his explanatory critique of capitalism on the normative foundation that the mode and relation of production of capitalism has generated xthe extreme inequality of economic distribution biased in favor of the bourgeoisie against the proletarian, which is the causal result of the exploitative nature of the relation of production; xthe ever accelerating process of commodification, which has not only alienated and reified the process of production, but also the labor process as well; x…. 56

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative ground for the critical social science: y. Marx’s normative foundation of explanatory critique: x …. xthe contradictions between the infrastructure and the superstructure of the capitalism, most notably the hegemony of the ideology of the capitalists over the culture of the whole society. 57

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative ground for the critical social science: y. Weber’s normative foundation of explanatory critique: Max Weber builds his explanatory critique on the normative foundation not only on the economic sphere of capitalism but also on the bureaucratization of the modern state. Weber underlines that the expansion of the instrumental rationality into various human organization has produced the “iron cage” in which humans have loss both the meanings and freedom in lives. 58

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative ground for the critical social science: y. Habermas’ normative foundation of explanatory critique: As cited above, Habermas has indicated that the normative foundation of his critical theory of society is theory of communicative action. By theory of communicative action, it refers to “the theory…aims at the moment of unconditionality of processes of consensus formation. As claims they transcend all limitations of space and time, all the provincial limitations of the given contexts. ” (Habermas, 1987, p. 399) …. 59

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z In search of the evaluative ground for the critical social science: y. Habermas’ normative foundation of explanatory critique: …. However, Habermas argues that in modern society the money steering apparatus of the market and the powersteering apparatus of the state have proliferated to such a great extent that the primary operating ground of communicative actions, i. e. the Lifeworld, has practically been colonized. (to be explicated in details on Topic 6 & 8) 60

Habermas, 1987 p. 127

Habermas, 1987 p. 127

The Constitution of the Public Sphere

The Constitution of the Public Sphere

Language mediating, meaning generating, and value & norm constituting Cultural reproduction, social integration, and

Language mediating, meaning generating, and value & norm constituting Cultural reproduction, social integration, and personality socialization Uncoupling Money-steering Colonizing Power-steering

Reification of Communicative Action Lifeworld of Social Labor Colonization & Reification Meaning generating, Moneysteering

Reification of Communicative Action Lifeworld of Social Labor Colonization & Reification Meaning generating, Moneysteering Imperative of Capitalism Profit maximumization Consensus bridging Lifeworld. Cultural renewing of Citizenship Liberating Effectiveness and Powersteering Efficiency of Governmentability. Imperative of Welfare State

Education as apprenticeship between fathers and sons Uncoupling Profit-making private schools and university Education

Education as apprenticeship between fathers and sons Uncoupling Profit-making private schools and university Education as private tutoring within families Establishment of Public Schools, Monastery , then University Colonizing State controlled compulsory schooling and sponsored universities (Habermas, 1987, P. 320)

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation of

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation of explanatory critique: y. Critical realists, in particular Bhaskar and Collier, approach the issue of finding the normative ground or in their terms “evaluative language” for their explanatory critique from another perspective, namely from methodological an epistemological perspectives rather than from the substantive theoretical perspective as Marx, Weber and Habermas. They approach the issue by addressing one of the fundamental debates in social research, namely the entanglement between fact and value. 67

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation of

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation of explanatory critique: …. y The fact and value aporia in social research: In naturalscientific research, fact and value are two separate domains, which should not be conflated in any ways. However, within the tradition of social research and sociological research in particular, the relation between fact and value has been one of the most controversial topics annoying its practitioners. …. 68

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation of

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation of explanatory critique: …. y. The fact and value aporia in social research: ……On the one hand, social researchers are supposed to observe the code of “value-free” in the investigation as suggested by Max Weber, yet on the other hand, the same Weber has also advocated that social actions are laden with subjective meanings and values. As a result, bridging the gap between objective fact and subjective value has been one of the aporia confronting social researchers for generations. 69

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation ….

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation …. y. One of the manifestations of the fact-value aporia in social research is on the issue whether the objects of study, i. e. social phenomena, are embodied with values or should they be treated as objective facts. Bhaskar approaches the issue with an example from put forth by Isaiah Berlin, “that of the following four statements about what happened in Nazi Germany: ‘the country was depopulated’, ‘millions of people died’, ‘millions of people were killed’ ‘millions of people were massacred’——the fourth is both the most evaluative and the most precise and accurate; it gives more truth than the others. …. . 70

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation ….

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation …. y …. . That is so, but the evaluative force arises entirely out of the factual content. It is not that by bringing values into the discourse one makes it a fuller statement of the truth, but that by making a fuller statement of the truth one implies more value. ” (Collier, 1994, P. 178) This example in fact reveals that it is a common feature in social phenomena to proceed from factual statements to value statement and more importantly such a proceeding will practically bring out “more truth” about the social phenomenon in point. 71

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation ….

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation …. y This example has also revealed another issue involved in research in the critical social science in general and explanatory critique in particular, that is what type of truth has the explanatory critique brought out in their investigation? x. First of all, the critique on Nazi’s act of massacred is built on the normative foundation that it is morally wrong to kill people in large scale. x. Based on factual evidences generated from investigations, social researchers may and even can infer from “depopulated” to “massacred”. As a result, the argument has in fact elevated from factual statement to value judgment/conclusion. 72

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation ….

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation …. y…. . what type of truth has the explanatory critique brought out in their investigation? x…. x. With the normative foundation and the evidence-based inference, social researchers can substantiate their critique on the social phenomenon under study as structural biased, ideological false or simply morally wrong. 73

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation ….

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Critical Realists’ normative foundation …. y…. . what type of truth has the explanatory critique brought out in their investigation? …. Taking together this line of criticism, we can see that the kind of truth that critical social scientists is pursuing is quite different from the objective truth of the analytical-empirical scientists and the practical truth of the hermeneutic researchers, it can be characterized as the normative truth, which is based with a strong normative foundation or even conviction and at the same time supported with explanatory 74 critiques.

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Typology of explanatory critiques: Bhaskar

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Typology of explanatory critiques: Bhaskar has outlined different types of explanatory critiques, but they are to be developed into substantive theories by means of “realistic” social researches in various social domains. y. Explanatory critique on “cognitive ills” (i. e. cognitive deceptions) and “communicative ills” (i. e. communicative distortions) in social reality, i. e. ideology y. Explanatory critique on “practical ills” in social reality, i. e. institutional injustice, illegitimate power and systemic bias 75

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Typology of explanatory critiques: y…

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Typology of explanatory critiques: y… y. Explanatory critique on “ethical ills” in social reality, i. e. psycho-pathological acts and irrational agencies 76

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Explanatory critique and normative truth

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Explanatory critique and normative truth in educational research In light of the precedent discussions about the meanings of explanatory critique and normative truth, we can see that educational research in general and studies of educational administration and policy in particular are in essence a critical science. … 77

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Explanatory critique and normative truth

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Explanatory critique and normative truth in educational research … y. The emancipatory and critical nature of education: Education as a human and social science and practice aiming at developing the potentials of every members of a given society to the full, it is therefore by definition an emancipatory project working for the betterment of human possibilities and potentialities. On the contrary, educators must be critical to any systemic biases and distortions which may restraint or suppress the developments of human potentials. This is in fact the very normative foundation of education. 78

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Explanatory critique and normative truth

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Explanatory critique and normative truth in educational research … y. Explanatory critique in educational research: In light of the above normative foundation or even conviction, education researchers are obligated to render explanatory critiques, which can provide evidences in criticizing any form of restraints and suppression of the developments of human potentials. In more positive sense, educational researchers should also provide explanatory critiques, which can improve the current institutional structure and belief in educational system, i. e. for the betterment of the status quo. 79

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Explanatory critique and normative truth

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Explanatory critique and normative truth in educational research … y. In defense of the normative truth of education: Based on the normative foundation and conviction of helping every human to develop their potential to the full, and built on the evidences substantiated from concrete educational research and the substantive explanatory critiques concluded, educational researchers come to the position to defend the normative and educational truth they are obligated to defend. …. . 80

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Explanatory critique and normative truth

The Epistemological Foundation of the Critical Social Science z Explanatory critique and normative truth in educational research … y. In defense of the normative truth of education: …. . They may be in the forms of educational inequality and injustice institutionalized in particular educational organizations and/or policy institutions. They may also appear in the forms of false believes and ideologies about educational practices which in fact produce distorting, detrimental or even suppressive effects to the development of school-children’s potentials. 81

Topic 4 Methodological & Epistemological Foundations of Critical Social Sciences End 82

Topic 4 Methodological & Epistemological Foundations of Critical Social Sciences End 82