A study note on critical modernism and critical realism: for MBA and Housing Studies students

A study note on critical modernism and critical realism: for MBA and Housing Studies students (information from perplexity.ai)

My question 1: "What are critical modernism and critical realism all about with reference to social science, notably on business management and housing studies? Are the idea of the two theoretical perspectives related, similar and complementary?"

The reply: "Critical Modernism and Critical Realism in Social Science: Focus on Business Management and Housing Studies

Critical Modernism: Overview and Focus

Critical modernism is an approach that critically revisits the ideals and practices of modernist theory, particularly in fields such as housing and urban studies. Rather than accepting the universal, functional assumptions of classic modernism, critical modernism interrogates these ideas, incorporating insights from social, cultural, and political critiques. In housing studies, for example, critical modernism focuses on:

• Re-examining modernist ideals such as functional zoning and universal design.

• Critiquing social impacts like segregation and loss of community within modernist housing projects.

• Integrating critical theory, moving beyond aesthetics to analyze power relations and social structures.

• Applying robust frameworks, notably critical realism, to understand deep causal processes shaping housing systems and policy.

• Balancing universal principles with local context, and adopting a historic and political awareness.

• Engaging with sustainability, regeneration, and comparative, interdisciplinary methods.

In business management, while less frequently labelled as “critical modernism” specifically, similar critiques manifest in Critical Management Studies (CMS), which aims to challenge accepted structures of power, hierarchical assumptions, and managerialist orthodoxy, often drawing on a wide range of critical social theories.

Critical Realism: Core Ideas and Application

Critical realism (CR) is a philosophy of science and a metatheoretical stance developed by Roy Bhaskar. In social science—and especially in management and housing research—critical realism is characterized by:

• Stratified ontology: Reality is composed of different layers (the empirical, actual, and real), and social phenomena emerge from deeper structures that are not immediately observable.

• Mind-independent reality: There exists a real world independent of human perception, though it can only be known fallibly and partially.

• Causal mechanisms: Emphasis is placed on discovering underlying causal powers and structures that generate observable events, rather than limiting inquiry to surface patterns or correlations.

• Critique of positivism and postmodernism: Critical realism challenges the reductionism of positivism and the extreme relativism of postmodernism, insisting that although knowledge is socially and historically mediated, objective knowledge about reality is still possible.

• In business management, critical realism provides tools for examining the structures, power relations, and mechanisms that produce organizational behavior and broader patterns of domination in capitalist society.

• In housing studies, critical realism is used to analyze divergent housing solutions and policy outcomes, advocating for a nuanced study of institutional, historical, and relational factors that shape housing systems rather than simple context-based or constructionist explanations.

Relationship Between Critical Modernism and Critical Realism

• Complementary, Not Identical: Critical modernism is an intellectual orientation that often employs critical realism as an ontological and epistemological underpinning. For example, critical modernists in housing studies use critical realism to ground their analysis of social phenomena in deeper, causal structures rather than mere critique of discourses or surface outcomes.

• Theoretical Integration: Critical modernism’s critique of universalist, overly simplistic interpretations aligns with critical realism’s insistence on complexity, causality, and emergent properties.

• Distinct Emphases: While critical realism is fundamentally a philosophy of science concerned with the nature of reality and knowledge, critical modernism is more a style of critique and reformulation of modernist ideas with an openness to critical theory and empirical complexity.

• Joint Application: In practice, especially in housing studies and critical management studies, the two approaches are used together—critical modernism for the breadth of its social critique, and critical realism for its methodological and analytical rigor.

Summary Table 

Perspective	Focus in Social Science	Emphasis in Business Management	Emphasis in Housing Studies	Relationship
Critical Modernism	Critique and extension of modernist theory; integration of critical theory	Challenges managerialist orthodoxies via critical theory	Critiques modernist ideals, incorporates social/cultural/power analysis, often uses critical realism	Often uses critical realism to deepen causal analysis; complementary
Critical Realism	Philosophy of science; reality is stratified, causality is key, fallibilist epistemology	Examines underlying structures in organizations, critiques dominance and power	Seeks to explain divergent outcomes via causal mechanisms and institutional analysis	Provides ontological/ epistemological basis for critical modernism

In summary, critical modernism and critical realism are closely related and often complementary in social science research—especially in fields like business management and housing studies. Critical modernism provides the critical breadth and motivation for change, while critical realism grounds such critique in a rigorous methodology aimed at understanding underlying causes and real-world structures.

A collection of blog notes on using chatgpt for research purpose.