1. Philosophy of Social Science2 Interpretivist and Feminist Standpoint Approaches Week 18: Claire Blencowe

2.  Interpretivist Approaches  Critical Theory and Standpoint Epistemology  Humanism/Humanist Marxism  Feminism  Post-colonialism, Cultural Studies  Critique of positivism  Placing emphasis on Meaningfulness Meaningful ‘lived experience’ ‘Giving voice’ & seeking ‘recognition’ Expressing struggle and incommensurability

3. And the search for meaning

4.  Georg Simmel (1858-1918)  Max Weber (1864-1920)  Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961)  Martin Heidegger (1889-1976)  Ervin Goffman (1922-1982)  Luce Irigaray (1930- )

5. Critique of modern objectification of social life  Technical reason & Instrumentalisation  Reduction of human life to obejcts  Lack of meaning  ‘Over objectification’ of life  Simmel – sociation is the movement of subjective into objective and back again  Modernity has fixed life in objectivity  Alienation from real interrelation and meaningful experience  Leads to dangerous responses

6. Critique of positivist social science Positivist social science has contributed to the objectification and reduction of human life Heidegger – Social science ‘sets up’ the world making it amenable to ‘planning and calculating and adjusting and making secure’ Foucault – Modern human sciences contribute to normalisation and regularisation of social life Irigaray – ‘Objectivity’ of science is in fact a masculine imposition of vertical order upon the feminine flow and interconnectedness of life.

7. The Search for Meaning Attending to the movement, vitality and experience of social life itself Philosophical interpretation and understanding of world Simmel – Study of processes of ‘sociation’: understanding and movement of subjectivity into form; fragments of social life containing truth of whole Merleau-Ponty – Phenomenology & philosophy; study of intersubjectivity Goffman – social interaction

8. Drawing on Long Tradition of ‘Humanist’ Hermeneutic Analysis and Philosophy William Dilthey (1833-1911)  The human spirit speaks to us from a whole range of objects, texts, behaviours  The art of understanding centres on the interpretation of texts  Developed just as slowly and deeply as has scientific experiment

9. Making Sense of Modern World Responding to technological developments of 20 th C Increasing mediation of life Films, photos, web pages, recorded music Cultural Studies ‘Cultural Turn’/ ‘Linguistic Turn’ in philosophy and sociology

10. The Search for Emancipation and Recognition

11. Within the ‘interpretivist tradition’ but...  Emphasis on power relations & struggle  Less interested in understanding the present, than in recognising emancipatory possibilities  Recognising minority experiences and perspectives -‘giving voice’  Faith in progress, especially through struggle and dialectics

12. ‘Humanist’ Marxism Theodore Adorno & Max Horkheimer (Critical Theory/Frankfurt School) Raymond Williams & E.P Thompson Stuart Hall & Cultural Studies Feminist Standpoint Epistemology Dorothy Smith Sandra Harding Patricia Hill Collins (Intersectionality, multiple standpoints) Post-colonialism Franz Fanon Edward Said Subaltern Studies

13.  Building on interpretivist critique of positivism  There is no such thing as a ‘view from nowhere’  ‘Objectivity’ is in fact just a generalised application of dominant perspectives (male, bourgeois, European)  Scientific Enlightenment has itself become a form of dogmatic domination

14.  But also critiquing implicit conservatism of interpretivist approaches: Existing frameworks of meaning are themselves historical constructs that limit the real possibilities of humanity We must look for human potential Study and expression of dialectics & political struggle Giving voice/expression to minority (dominated) perspectives

15.  Explicit commitment to projects of political emancipation  Marxism  Feminism  Post-colonialism  Engaged in struggles for recognition  Efforts to ‘give voice’ to minority perspectives that are usually under represented in social science

16.  Drawing on and developing Hegelian Philosophy G.W.F. Hegel (1770-1831) Spirit of history drives us towards emancipation People seek recognition from others Real potential of humanity rests in the experiences and struggles of oppressed people

17. Hegel’s ‘Master Slave Dialectic’ (Phenomenology of Spirit) Master Slave Master v Slave Free Slave constitutes fully conscious/emancipated humanity

18.  Social Research as agent in dialectical struggle for recognition and emancipation Interested in knowledges of the oppressed Willing to overthrow /risk everything Associating ‘giving voice’ to minority perspectives with emancipation, truth and human potential

19. ‘Humanist’ Marxism Giving voice/expression to ‘real life’ experience of working class (Williams, Thompson) Expressing the dialectical process itself, discord (Adorno) Feminist Standpoint Epistemology ‘Giving voice’ to ‘women’s experience’ ‘Strong objectivity’ of dominated perspectives Post-colonialism Experience of colonised people the future of an emancipated humanity (Fanon) Subaltern Studies Intersectionality/Multiple Perspectives (Hill-Collins)

20. Key points of Ontology and Epistemology

21. Interpretivist Approaches Search for meaning Reduction of human life to objects (in modern life) Complicity of positivist social research with modern objectification of life Critical Theory/Standpoint Epistemology Objectivity is actually a biased view representing dominant perspectives Search for recognition Search for emancipation and realisation of human potential

22. Interpretivist Approaches The social is The search for meaningful association Intersubjectivity Objectified culture, texts, signs, meanings Contexts, layered meanings Critical Theory/Standpoint Epistemology Dialectical or plural struggles for recognition and freedom There is an essential drive towards emancipation and progressive humanity Power relations impede progress and potentality

23. Interpretivist Approaches The ‘art of interpretation’ attending to imaginative context Aesthetic/philosophical resonance Capturing experience – richness, quality, vitality of ‘real life’ Critical Theory/Standpoint Epistemology Giving Voice/Recognition to dominated perspectives Expression of struggle, domination and constrained potential

24. Interpretivist Approaches Is the account rich, resonant, meaningful? Does the interpretation demonstrate an awareness of depth – layers of meaning, context? Critical Theory/Standpoint Epistemology Who’s experience is being reported? Does the researcher inhibit or really express the perspective of the research subject? Is the research attending to power struggle and incongruity Is the research dialectical/engaged in struggle?

25.  Critical discussion of the required readings and lecture  Consolidating understanding of interpretivist and feminist approaches to philosophy of social research  Thinking critically about interpretivist and feminist approaches  ALSO – time set aside to work on the issue of ethics. Download and bring copy of BSA Ethics Statement.