Re: BHA: De became Ds

[Jan Straathof <janstr@xxxxxxx>]

hi Andrew,

the 's' in Ds stands for 'subjective':

  "For actualism presupposes closed systems, which are a condition,
  normally socially produced and maintained, of the alignement of
  the realms of the real, the actual and the subjective, whether the
  subjective be conceptual (as in Leibniz) or empirical (as in Hume
  and Kant)." [PE:p.204]

the reason, i think, Bhaskar switched from De to Ds is to sharpen
and broaden his critique on the epistemic premisses (viz. the (subject-
object) identity theory) that give base to various forms of actualism
(viz. the reduction of the real (as the necessary and possible) to the
actual), as found not only in empirical realism (Hume and Kant) but
also in conceptual realism (Leibniz and Hegel): f.e. in Hume's actualism,
saying that 'the only knowledge we can have is of empirical objects' and
in Leibniz's viz. that 'the only knowledge we can have is of relations
between ideas'.

  "Note that the humanization of nature implicit in the concept of
  empirical and conceptual realism goes hand in hand with the
  naturalization of or mechanization of science (in empirical realism)
  or its formalism (in conceptual realism)." [PE:43]

hope this helps a bit, but for the real stuff check PE chap. 2:3, 10:1
and follow his critique on actualism (and determinism, blockism,
fixism, irrealism etc. ....

yours,
Jan





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