Conventional Realism and Political Inquiry

John G. Gunnell

Published by University of Chicago Press 2020

Conventional Realism and Political Inquiry

Channeling Wittgenstein

John G. Gunnell

https://doi.org/10.7208/9780226661308

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About this book

When social scientists and social theorists turn to the work of philosophers for intellectual and practical authority, they typically assume that truth, reality, and meaning are to be found outside rather than within our conventional discursive practices.

John G. Gunnell argues for conventional realism as a theory of social phenomena and an approach to the study of politics. Drawing on Wittgenstein’s critique of “mentalism” and traditional realism, Gunnell argues that everything we designate as “real” is rendered conventionally, which entails a rejection of the widely accepted distinction between what is natural and what is conventional. The terms “reality” and “world” have no meaning outside the contexts of specific claims and assumptions about what exists and how it behaves. And rather than a mysterious source and repository of prelinguistic meaning, the “mind” is simply our linguistic capacities. Taking readers through contemporary forms of mentalism and realism in both philosophy and American political science and theory, Gunnell also analyzes the philosophical challenges to these positions mounted by Wittgenstein and those who can be construed as his successors.

Author information

John G. Gunnell is distinguished professor emeritus at the University at Albany, SUNY. He is the author of Social Inquiry after Wittgenstein and Kuhn and Social Science and Political Theory, and his work has been collected in the edited volume, John G. Gunnell: History, Discourses, and Disciplines.

Reviews

"This book is...an exploration of the relationship between social science and philosophy, but, more specifically, ... focuses on the impact of representational philosophy on the discipline of political science as well as on social inquiry in general."

— Blog of the APA

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Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Representational Philosophy and Conventional Realism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	9
2. Mentalism and the Problem of Concepts Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	34
3. The Realistic Imagination in Political Inquiry: The Case of International Relations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	53
4. The Challenge to Representational Philosophy: Wittgenstein, Ryle, and Austin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	72
5. Contemporary Anti- representationalism: Sellars, Davidson, Putnam, McDowell, and Dennett Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	92
6. Presentation and Representation in Social Inquiry Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	114
7. Conventional Realism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	128
8. The Quest for the Real and the Fear of Relativism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	168
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	185

Language: English
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 208
Keywords: Conventional Realism; Mind; Reality; and World; Ludwig Wittgenstein; Political Science; Political Theory

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Published: February 10, 2020
ISBN: 9780226661308

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Conventional Realism and Political Inquiry

Channeling Wittgenstein