Realism

A realist methodology (as it applies to sociology) was originally developed by Karl Marx in the 19th century and subsequently adopted and refined by various writers (see Keat and Urry "Social Theory As Science", 1975 for examples), in the late 20th century.

In many ways, a realist version of science shares some of the features of the ideologies we have already considered:

Like positivism, for example, it accepts the idea that the social world does have certain objective features (or structures to use a realist term) that can be studied scientifically in terms of things like cause and effect relationships.

Similarly, realist science accepts that social structures have some form of independent existence which is experienced as "external" to individuals. These structures act on us - pressurising, constraining and limiting our behaviour - and, for this reason, the study of social structures is considered to be of primary importance for realist science.

Conversely, like interpretivism, realists argue we cannot ignore the fact human beings have consciousness; people are aware of their relationships with others and are not simply pushed around by forces outside their control.

Similarly, realism accepts that what we believe to be real will have important consequences for our behaviour.

Unlike positivism, however, realist science argues that social structures are themselves the product of specific social relationships; they are created not just by people, but by powerful groups (such as those based around class, gender, age and ethnicity) pursuing their own particular interests at the expense of less powerful social groups.

Unlike Interpretivism, social structures have an objective existence over and above the people who create them - and these structures cannot be easily changed. When we enter into a relationship with someone, for example, that fact changes not only the way we relate to them; it also changes our relationship with others.

We should note that for realist versions of science, social structures are "real" only in their effects - they are not permanent and unchanging (although they are very difficult to change). We can, therefore, only study them in terms of particular sets of social relationships that exist at a particular time and in a particular place. Social structures, in this respect, are simply the product of underlying - or hidden - relationships; things we cannot see, but which nevertheless have some form of existence.

Although people (by their awareness of a social context to their behaviour) ultimately create social structures ("frameworks of social relationships that have a meaning to people"), we have to be aware that the structures we create reflect back upon our behaviour; the social context of our behaviour clearly affects the range and choice of behaviour we adopt.

Realism, therefore, argues that the task of science is to deconstruct social structures and, by so doing, to expose their underlying (hidden or non-empirical) basis. This involves the idea that all knowledge about the world is considered by realist scientists to be ideologically constructed and, if we accept this idea, the task of science is to demonstrate the way we can construct a form of human society based on moral (ideological) principles that is the fairest, most egalitarian way of organising our social existence.

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