Over de kritisch realistische visie op causaliteit en de implicaties ervan voor het empirisch onderzoek naar sociale mechanismen

Abstract

The notion of causality presented by critical realism, is based on a three-layered ontology. Causality in terms of necessity is situated at the deepest level of the transfactual constitution of the object, its tendency to act in a specific way and its power to make a difference. Critical realism thus presents an internal definition of causality. It also presents a definition of causality that goes beyond efficient causality. This article reflects on the consequences of this critical realist vision of causality with respect to the notion of causal mechanisms, as well as the conceptualization of the influence of the social (causal efficacy) versus the influence of the agents (causal efficiency) and the status of theory in empirical explanatory research.