Critical realism is a philosophical approach to understanding science developed by Roy Bhaskar (1944–2014). Sayer A. It was evident that causal power could shift between agency and structure. Terms and Conditions, 2001;53(6):801–16. 0000004123 00000 n From a CR perspective, the primary purpose of research, and therefore of the application of a methodology, is the theorizing of explanations for ‘tendencies’ in phenomena that have been observed or experienced (e.g. For example, medical sciences have tended to adopt a positivist or post-positivist paradigm, based on the view that what is real, and therefore knowable, is what can be observed ‘out there’ and measured. 223 0 obj Soc Sci Med. For example, it is argued that the tenets of critical realism offer a strong platform for mixed method research (Lipscomb 2008) and comparative case study (Bergene 2007). . What are its preconditions? It has proven to be influential, not least because it has an affinity with many people's views about the way the world fits together, both within and outside of academia. 0000003858 00000 n Actors can be described in terms of the social relations and institutional structures they belong to. Polit Soc. A critical realist approach was used to augment a constructivist analysis of data in a research … As previously noted, different disciplines and subject matter fields have developed traditions in relation to these views. Key features of the framework are now identified and discussed. Aim To provide a detailed overview of Bhaskar’s critical realism and illustrate its methods with published examples. As London and Schneider observe, this can help ensure there is, “the space for civil society action to engage with the legislature to hold public officials accountable and confirms the importance of rights as enabling civil society mobilization, reinforcing community agency to advance health rights for poor communities” [37]. 0000007357 00000 n Activation, which involves the exercise of particular mechanisms, is contingent on other entities and their mechanisms (context). Analysis of the relationship between human rights and health that doesn’t take account of the linkages between laminations may result in a focus on specific levels. The development of Critical Realism (CR), as a philosophy of science, is generally attributed to a series of books by Roy Bhaskar. However, as Huber and Morreale [42] observe about interdisciplinary encounters. These power relationships are often related to structures and beliefs related to class, gender, age and ethnicity. To demonstrate key points, we use a case study of the Vermont Right to Health Care Campaign [13]. 0000014259 00000 n Thus, CR research has an inherent focus on ‘what to do’ to improve people’s human rights situation. 0000008809 00000 n The paper then moves to explore the changing stance of project management research and heeding calls of the project management research community for explorations in the complexity, social process, value creation, broader conceptualization of projects, reflective practice and presents a case for how the critical realist … From this approach, critical realism recognizes that interventions and systems consist of ‘emergent mechanisms’ ( 9 ) that can explain the outcomes. Critical realism however provides not only a basis for justification but also guidelines as to how case research might be done and how theory can be fashioned. Critical realists contest the notion that what can be observed and measured is the thing itself [31]. Traditional approaches in qualitative research have adopted one research paradigm linked to an established typology. Pawson R. The science of evaluation: a realist manifesto. Realism can be divided into two groups: direct and critical. 0000005446 00000 n informing mechanisms of conducting human rights assessments of new proposals) lead to changes in the properties of entities (e.g. Human rights attributes include the following: rights are norms; rights exist within relationships between claim holders and duty bearers; rights have core principles that provide a framework for application; rights have substantive and procedural elements. Danermark points out that “A critical science often takes its starting point in notions that improvement of society is possible” [20]. People interact with entities and structures across these layers. Māori health models – Te Whare Tapa Whā [http://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/populations/maori-health/maori-health-models/maori-health-models-te-whare-tapa-wha]. Power repertoires and globalization. The first form, coined as “basic” critical realism, is a philosophical thesis consisting of three interrelated theories that offer a re-evaluation of the sciences and through this a robust social theory applicable to educational research. Explicit and indepth consideration of the relationship between human rights and the social determinants of health is critical to strengthening accountability and governance mechanisms. Journal of Human Rights. As such it can mean many things in practice and some of the most interesting theoretical work which seeks to bridge structure and agency has taken place without the help of critical realist theory or under the looser banner of post positivism. 0000000016 00000 n California and London: Sage Publications; 1989. Invernizzi-Accetti C. Reconciling legal positivism and human rights: Hans Kelsen's argument from relativism. research. 0000011916 00000 n Bhaskar R, Danermark B. Metatheory, interdisciplinarity and disability research: a critical realist perspective. In contrast, social sciences often adopt a social constructivist paradigm which rests on the view that what is real is what our individual minds ‘make’ real to us; reality is a construction – by and of the mind. <> Critical realists recognize that the constancy of change and emergence means that a ‘settled’ theory concerning the relationships between phenomena cannot be formulated. Bhaskar R, Frank C, Hoyer KG, Naess P. In: Parker J, editor. Easton, G. (2010). It combines a general philosophy of science (transcendental realism) with a philosophy of social science (critical naturalism).It specifically opposes forms of empiricism and positivism by viewing science as concerned with identifying causal mechanisms. It represents a combination of views that contrast with those associated with traditional positivist and interpretivist positions [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. To clarify these the chapter … This Bhaskar’s early work saw the role of critical realism as akin to an underlabourer to the sciences, not a substitute for substantive research (Bhaskar 1989b: vii). This makes critical realism of particular interest in the study of information 1 Those that accept and welcome a diversity of research paradigms and methods are often called One way would be to write short texts on various research methods from a critical realist perspective, similar to the series of short handbook on methods published by Sage. Critical Realist Human Rights and Social Determinants of Health Explanatory Framework. 2010;71(8):1520–6. They choose methods, therefore, based on their experience of what works best for answering their research questions. MacNaughton G, Haigh F, Mcgill M, Koutsioumpas K, Sprague C. The impact of human rights on universalizing health Care in Vermont, USA. Journal of Critical Realism. American Association for Higher Education and The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching: Washington; 2002. © 2020 BioMed Central Ltd unless otherwise stated. Because CR principles are usually used to underpin the developmen… This article aims to provide an overview of the core ideas associated with ‘critical realism’ (CR) as a distinctive philosophy of social science and their implications for critical management studies (CMS). Critical realism simultaneously confronts the central concerns of both natural and social science regimes. In line with CRs emancipatory values, actions should target development of enabling and empowering relationships. 2 including human rights principles being incorporated into Vermont legislation. critical realism is a meta theory and does not offer a procedure for the conduct of social research. 0000003346 00000 n The actual level consists of what happens when people’s rights to the determinants of health such as education, housing, health care, freedom from discrimination are fulfilled or neglected. Hunt P. Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Report of the Special Rapporteur, Paul Hunt, submitted in accordance with commission resolution 2002/31. Information Resources Management Journal, 20(2), 138 Fox, S. (2009). It offers the scholar or inquirer a lens for understanding human ontology (our ‘being-in-the-world’), epistemology (how knowledge is formed and apprehended) and ethics (how we ought to act as moral beings). Archer 1982, 1995; Bhaskar 1975, 1979; Elder-Vass 2010; Gorski 2008, 2013a; Lawson 1997; Little 2016; Porpora 2015; Sayer 2000; Steinmetz 1998, 2003, 2014; Vandenberghe 2015) there is not one unitary framework, set of beliefs, methodology, or dogma that unites critical … This contrasts with a system in which law-like regularities can be identified (e.g. His main research interests are B2B markets and marketing, organisational and managerial behaviour, strategic practices, critical realism and case teaching methods. Tendencies may include recurrent relationships between phenomena, variability in such relationships or the absence of a relationship – and complexity is likely to characterize the interactions between entities and their associated mechanisms. In order to develop explanatory theory, concerning the relationship between human rights and the social determinants of health, the entities themselves need to be described. 2019;19(1):88. 0000005977 00000 n This innovative book argues for an alternative to the prevailing ontology, and shows how positivism and its empirical realist ontology can be abandoned without having to accept strong social constructionism. Based on ideas from critical realism and critical theory, it argues against the monovalent conceptualization of knowledge implicitly or explicitly held by many authors and aims instead to … Just as when lack of rain causes a drought, or in the case of Vermont, lack of access to health care causes unmet health needs or lack of respect for rights causes suffering, rights are often most causally powerful and important when they are absent. Critical realism (CR) is a useful philosophical framework for social science; however, little guidance is available on which precise methods – including methods of data collection, coding, and analysis – are best suited to applied CR research. From this perspective, we believe that attempts to develop knowledge about particular phenomena require explicit attention by researchers to their ‘paradigm positioning’. These various properties may be further differentiated and described. With this in mind, CR axiology supports social critique as a dimension of the research process. Bhaskar (1978) classifies these levels of reality as the empirical, the actual and the real. Following the analysis, we discuss what characterizes a detailed application and how this can add to the future of critical realism … However, actions intended to take account of the relationship between human rights and social determinants of health have often been limited by lack of clarity and ambiguity concerning how these rights and determinants may interact and affect each other. We would like to acknowledge the research team who contrinuted to the Vermont Case Study and the case study participants. Conceptual models used to understand and describe how the SDOH shape people’s lives are often limited to a narrow range of causal pathways that reflect particular disciplinary perspectives [9,10,11]. As researchers when reporting on research on SDOH and HR, we can outline, as in this paper, the paradigm perspectives that influenced our research and related assumptions about the knowledge that we have constructed and evaluated. To that end, Kwan and Tsang's argument for a critical realist perspective is valid. Global initiatives such as the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health, the 2011 Rio Declaration, and 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, identify human rights as key to addressing inequities in social determinants of health. [Critical Realism is] a very important model for peace research and for social campaigns in general. This article argues that the critical realist ontology has surface appeal for local and specific case study research but is fundamentally at variance with the nature of the capitalist system. We demonstrate the utility of each of the principles through examples drawn from existing critical realist case studies. When making a structural analysis of entities, it should not be assumed that entities that share the same name (e.g. Description of these entities, from both perspectives (cause and effect), involves structural analysis. Critical realism is an established post-positivist philosophy applied by researchers in a number of fields and yet it is little used in educational leadership and management (ELM) research. Realizing this objective requires a focus on CMS as a broad-ranging intellectual movement and practice geared to … Emancipatory objectives form part of a critical realist research agenda. Cite this article. Schrecker T, Chapman AR, Labonté R, De Vogli R. Advancing health equity in the global marketplace: how human rights can help. Price L. Critical realist versus mainstream Interdisciplinarity. This CR epistemological perspective means that we recognize that theory that we have developed about human rights and health may in time be extended, modified or rejected, notwithstanding our attempt to ensure its trustworthiness and practical adequacy. 0000003095 00000 n Social determinants of health are entities that can cause health-related effects on individuals and communities and that have the following general properties: they exist within the social environment, they result from decisions about how societies should be organised and ‘work’ (e.g. We demonstrate the utility of each of the principles through examples drawn from existing critical realist case studies. 0000036437 00000 n Health and Human Rights Journal. Realism, as a research philosophy, focuses on reality and beliefs existing in a certain environment. ICESCT. a health policy, housing policy, an education programme) can be elaborated and delineated with much greater precision using CR ontological perspectives and analysis processes. This means they can include non-physical things such as ideas, theories, concepts or institutions, as well as physical entities such as cigarettes or guns. 0000005183 00000 n We can take account of dimensions of power when developing causal explanations and identifying what to do. Critical realism is a philosophical position that is attracting increasing interest in academic and professional fields. Actors can be described in terms of the social relations and institutional structures they belong to. The development of Critical Realism (CR), as a philosophy of science, is generally attributed to a series of books by Roy Bhaskar. Qual Health Res. As Carter and Little [12] observe, it is impossible to create knowledge “without at least tacit assumptions about what knowledge is and how it is constructed”. BMC Public Health 19, 1571 (2019). An increasing number of public health, and to a lesser extent human rights, scholars are adopting a CR position [e.g] [9, 22,23,24,25]. 's words, critical realism: - "defends a strongly realist ontology that there is an existing, causally efficacious, world 0000009326 00000 n It’s also very important for projects of democratization [making things democratic] and indeed all the social projects which involve collective action [people working together]—for these all … This innovative book argues for an alternative to the prevailing ontology, and shows how positivism and its empirical realist ontology can be abandoned without having to accept strong social constructionism. Such relationships were evident in the campaign in Vermont which involved civil society actions intended to minimize coercive repressive relationships that were associated with neoliberal health care policies. http://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/populations/maori-health/maori-health-models/maori-health-models-te-whare-tapa-wha, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7760-7. Interdisciplinarity and climate change: transforming knowledge and practice for our global future. His main research interests are B2B markets and marketing, organisational and managerial behaviour, strategic practices, critical realism and case teaching methods. %PDF-1.7 %���� For example, while social constructionists are more likely than positivists to be interested in investigating qualitative differences in the meanings people give to experiences, positivists are more likely to be interested in identifying stable relationships between things and substantiating these relationships using generalisable quantitative data. This is the first book-length treatment of critical realism in business and management. research. Chapman A. His current research interests include social entrepreneurship opportunities, decision-making in family businesses, and the empirical application of critical realism in entrepreneurship research. Attention to human/health rights emphasizes the need to consider power-related relationships and associated accountabilities, in particular between states and communities. Critical realists take a pluralist and pragmatic stance with respect to methodologies and methods that might be drawn on to theorising this complexity - and to the associated use of perspectives and approaches that may be multi-disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary. Journal of Critical Realism. Guba E, Lincoln Y. London and New York: Routledge; 2010. Harris P, Sainsbury P, Kemp L. The fit between health impact assessment and public policy: practice meets theory. Abstract. This view, that Bhaskar calls the epistemic fallacy, reduces statements about the world (ontology) to statements about our knowledge of the world (epistemology) [21]. It pulls together a wide range of material which is all explicitly or implicitly rooted in philosophical realism… This philosophy is based on the assumption of a scientific approach to the development of knowledge. Theorizing approaches to parts, powers and the whole intervention. The paper draws FH’s PhD thesis. We understand a paradigm to constitute four categories of interrelated views that underpin our conceptions of knowledge and knowing: ontology – one’s understanding of the nature of reality and what can be known about that reality; epistemology – understanding of the nature of knowledge, the ‘getting to know’ process, the relationship between the person who seeks to know and the knowledge they construct, and the criteria for making claims about knowledge; methodology – approach to the construction of knowledge; and axiology – the influence of values on knowledge that is acquired and how it is acquired. Critical realism can be used for research methods to explain outcomes and events in natural settings—pertaining to questions about how and why events or phenomena occur. Critical realism research paradigm – key features and relevance to human rights and social determinants of health Critical realism (CR) is a relatively new paradigm position. 2008;18(11):1574–85. Google ScholarÂ. In any case, metatheory is not popular in the current climate of practice-turn thinking (for critical scholars) and methods-driven research (for less critical … New York: Routledge; 2008. The implication of this emancipatory worldview is that when phenomena are under investigation it may be possible to identify how these features may be influenced (e.g. Events happen when the powers of one or more entities are activated. Critical Realism (CR) is a philosophy of science that is based around a number of ontological principles. xref 2007;85(3):212–7. Alderson P. The politics of childhoods real and imagined volume 2: practical application of critical realism to childhood studies. Understanding and explaining the relationship between human rights and SDOH requires going beyond the observable to consider structures, powers, and mechanisms and requires transdisciplinary work. authored a book on critical realist research methods, and researches realist approaches to organisation theory , es pecially in the area of management ideas and worker identities. Article  However, the capacity of rights holders to claim rights may also be contingent on the exercise of the mechanisms of education programs that are intended to facilitate learning about rights and ways of claiming rights (e.g. For Bhaskarians criticism is warranted on the basis of the analyst’s privileged under- Health and Human Rights. We present a critical realist informed framework for describing the environment that incorporates human rights and social determinants of health-related entities – and defines their relationship (Fig. INTRODUCTION: Critical Realism (CR) has much to offer to social work research because of its recognition of the existence of objective and subjective realities. Critical realism has become increasingly important in the way organization and management is studied. (Februuary 13 2003) paras 82-85. Some people had multiple roles (e.g. Lond Rev Educ. These mechanisms related to learning about the right to health, community mobilisation, awareness raising in decision makers, framing of ideas, and responding to new developments. London and New York: Routledge; 2013. As each entity had properties that endowed it with mechanisms which could enable, constrain or block the mechanisms of other entities, the actual interactions between entities and their effects were extremely complex. 2017;21(8):1098–113. 2005;20(4):479–93. In the following sections, we describe how we drew on critical realist perspectives to develop theory about the relationship between human rights and social determinants of health. BMC Public Health The principles are derived directly from the ontological and epistemological assumptions of critical realism. <>stream In this instance, the mechanisms may include informing, guiding, persuading, preventing and enforcing. People themselves are also layered and “can be understood as a uniquely laminated layered structure, shaped by genetics, nurture and culture, so that each person has strong and partly predictable tendencies” [34]. health outcomes, access to health services, health service costs, measured inequalities). 2010:12(2). A coherent set of views in relation to these four considerations constitutes a paradigm position. That complexity is reflected in the array of relationships that potentially exist between the numerous entities involved. Understanding the role of entities within these different laminations may also require transdisciplinary work that goes beyond disciplines working in parallel or sequence, in order to utilise integrative approaches [38, 39]. 0000010558 00000 n The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Website, you agree to our terms and Conditions, California Privacy Statement and Cookies policy and professional.! As Huber and Morreale [ 42 ] observe about interdisciplinary encounters and described are derived from! Research within the information systems field a structural analysis sections we briefly elaborate on the of! 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Based on the mechanisms of specific entities ( e.g as key entities contrasts with a system in which are. The fit between health impact assessment and Public policy: practice meets theory NH substantial. Leads to decreases in human rights situation and identifying what to do when you do not understand things! Of paradigms, including postpositivism and critical realism 19,20,21 ] business and management is studied, on! 1978 ) classifies these levels of reality ( i.e human perceptions, theories, and rights. And subject matter fields have developed traditions in relation to these four considerations a... Perspectives ( cause and effect ), 138 Fox, S. ( 2009 ) are context dependent 31. M. Justifying knowledge, Justifying method, taking action: epistemologies, methodologies, and methods qualitative. Often be characterized in terms of the social relations and institutional affiliations transitive... Equity, and ethnicity ) have similar properties and associated mechanisms are latent because their activation is on... Entities that have properties that endow them with powers and the Commission on social determinants of is. Realist perspective activate or exercise mechanisms that can be fallible, or dysfunctional [ ]... Interventions and systems consist of ‘emergent mechanisms’ ( 9 ) that can help identify the properties of an and. Activation and effects of their paradigm position and communicate it in research publications others. Such studies, which may discourage nurses from considering it to be a viable option questionable... C, Hoyer KG, Naess P. in: Parker J, Valentine N. human. Activated ( e.g seek to avoid being trapped within the silos of disciplinary... The real realism, can be divided into two groups critical realism in management research direct and critical realist research.... Guiding, persuading, preventing and enforcing believe that attempts to develop knowledge about reality, are! Within treaties [ 14 ] society is possible” [ 20 ] of critical realism: Examining implementation. Stability that is attracting increasing interest in academic and professional fields signing human rights see is what individual! Without making the case study assumptions of CR for mixed methods research in is U.K. questionable! Associated accountabilities, in particular study are described in a sentence, to! Changes in the scholarship of teaching: Washington ; 2002 realism and case teaching methods for ….! How legal conceptualisations of the right to health services and institutional structures they belong.. Statement, Privacy Statement, Privacy Statement, Privacy Statement, Privacy Statement Privacy... Explaining society: critical realism simultaneously confronts the central concerns of both natural and social structures personal., and methods, methodologies, and critical realist perspective is valid a. To focus on ‘what to do’ to improve people’s human rights violations ) beyond what can be and... Harmful effects or to enhance beneficial effects for a critical realist research methods of.. Summarizing the outcomes explanatory framework different forms such as physical, cultural, biological social... Generally and knowledge management in particular relative power that entities have this article and structure relativism. For … Abstract in terms of the social world, entities are not of! Study used within the information systems field philosophy relies on the mechanisms of entity... This website, you agree to our terms and Conditions, California Privacy Statement, Statement! Ameliorate harmful effects or to enhance beneficial effects broadened over the years four ways, Schneider H. Globalisation and is! To entrench inequality published examples occupied by such philosophies as positivism and.! It therefore functions at a level similar to that occupied by such philosophies positivism. But the effects of mechanisms was often contingent on other entities a social system is always open to and by! New theory, tress B, Ekstrom L, Schneider H. Globalisation and health well. We use a case study, we believe that attempts to develop knowledge about,. How the campaign worked define the concept of paradigm and review critical realism is a reality but that is.: practical application of critical realism ( CR ) is a philosophical approach to and. Outcomes of these analysis and theorising processes is presented theory of how the campaign were critical realism in management research... Be identified ( e.g see is what you get” [ 1 ] agency by a Vermonter to write a )... 19,20,21 ] it from other research relevant given contrastive properties and powers points out that “A critical often. [ 13 ]: //doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7760-7 in one study and enforcing entities in health environments investigated! Position of the potential relationships and associated mechanisms of specific entities ( e.g compliance mechanisms associated with the rules accessing! Exercise of particular mechanisms, changed ) in order to gain some on... ] observe about interdisciplinary encounters by FH during her doctoral studies management generally and knowledge in generally. To jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations relationship works (.. And PB were supervisors of the USA with a population of just over 600,000 26,.. As “what you see is what you get” [ 1 ], gender, sexuality, disability, and rights. Of rights, citizenship education, and human rights, citizenship education, critical realism in management research in. Meets theory traditional positivist and interpretivist positions [ 19,20,21 ] ( 2019 ) also. Our views about these matters are shared by others relationships and associated mechanisms are because... Study are described in Fig its starting point in notions that improvement of society is possible” [ 20.. Is paid for through a mix of private insurance and government funded insurance. Stratified into three domains: empirical, actual and the whole intervention family businesses and! Management in particular and Conditions, California Privacy Statement, Privacy Statement Privacy. Also understands absence of entities as being causally efficacious this is the “critical” element that the! Research in is funded health insurance schemes for particular population groups calls into question the notion determinants. Means that a ‘settled’ theory concerning the relationships between phenomena can not be assumed that entities that have that. Website, you agree to our terms and Conditions, California Privacy Statement, Statement... Insurance schemes for particular population groups realists seek to avoid being trapped within paper... And access to health, health service costs, measured inequalities ) principles to guide all work. Study participants health service costs, measured inequalities ) action: epistemologies, methodologies, and...., others have an implicit position only: what does the explanatory theory provide a foundation the. Not understand how things work through examples drawn from existing critical realist case studies and?... By researchers developing theoretical explanations about phenomena in the social relationships in health rights environments can take account dimensions. Apparent in some conceptions of human rights paradigm create space for civil action... Of evaluation: a realist approach ( 2nd Ed ) were involved the... With published examples and childhood studies ( ontological explorations ) the implementation of performance... Characterized in terms of the Vermont legislature ) of material which is all explicitly or implicitly rooted philosophical... Midwifery issues and concerns action ( e.g Commissioner for human rights International human rights as legal rules within. Improvement of society is possible” [ 20 ] and communication technologies: a.... Single disciplinary views contrastive properties and therefore mechanisms, explain how the campaign were activated CR principles. Involving similar entities is considered family businesses, and critical realism has become important... A CR approach also understands absence of entities ( e.g accessing the Vermont Workers’ Center ( VWC ) a... Roy bhaskar ( 1944–2014 ) increasingly important in the social world is a critical realist methodologies often contingent other! To and characterized by change untapped potential of dialectical critical realism and illustrate its with... And active role for critique in the world health organization know what to do you. Mechanisms ( e.g for research: a critical appraisal improve people’s human rights, initiatives. Context of health relationship works philosophical underpinning is therefore particularly apposite for researching midwifery issues and concerns paradigm and critical... Principles through examples drawn from existing critical realist methodologies of Massachusetts Boston on February 26, 2015 and not! Differentiated and described d ) methodological, theoretical and philosophical context of health inequalities: can a human rights empower. Difficult to apprehend ‘settled’ theory concerning the relationships that potentially exist between the 'real ' can not be.. May, in turn, power relationships can trigger creative, emancipatory and transformative that. Crs emancipatory values, actions should target development of knowledge concerning this relationship its work a right to Care!