Irrealist Sociology: Ontological Pluralism for Social Inquiry

• In Event: 209 - Theory Section Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 10. Contemporary Theory

Abstract

In this paper, I introduce an alternative position into ongoing debates among realists and social constructionists about the philosophical bases of social research—namely, irrealism, the position that ontology is neither monistic nor radically relativist, but rather plural. I argue that the ontological and epistemological assumptions on which most contemporary social research is based are flawed, and that irrealism offers a better set of philosophical assertions and practical implications to guide social research. I proceed following the precedent of social constructionism, but move beyond the sociology of knowledge to explore deeper philosophical problems associated with realist and empiricist assumptions and detail the improvements irrealism has to offer.

Author

• Matthew J. Chandler, University of Notre Dame