Real Types vs Ideal Types

George Steinmetz & Philip Gorski

Thursday, October 19 from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.

 Abstract: in discussing explanation of social phenomena, including systems of meaning, Weber develops the concept of an ideal type. For Weber the ideal type:

‘‘It is not a description of reality but it aims to give an unambiguous means of expression to such a description . . . An ideal type is formed by the one-sided accentuation of one or more points of view and by the synthesis of a great many diffuse, discrete, more or less present and occasionally absent concrete individual phenomena, which are arranged according to those one-sidedly emphasized viewpoints into a unified analytical construct’’

But where does this leave realism? … is it possible to have real types? and if so, what would they look like? how would we construct them?  and how would we use them in our explanations?

For more information on the webinar go to:
http://criticalrealismnetwork.org/webinars/upcoming-webinars/

To register for the webinar go to:
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6753745060977591041

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