Critical Realism and Criminological Theory

Critical Realism and Criminological Theory Synopsis

Critical Realism and Criminological Theory represents an attempt to revitalise the project of The New Criminology, accomplished by means of a critical review of key theoretical perspectives in criminology, and the attempt to synthesise the usable and valuable elements of these into a fully integrated social theory. Criminological theories are not necessarily mutually incompatible competitors, but offer partial insights into a multi-faceted social world. The problem of each tends to be that of over-generalisation.

This critical review will be based on and informed by the social ontology of Critical Realism, a new perspective in the philosophy of social science. This is necessary because CR provides a coherent account of how to reconcile the positivist (causal) and interpretivist (voluntary and meaningful) dimensions of social life within a sociological theory of contemporary society.

This book will be of great interest to academics and students of critial realism as well as those researching criminological theory.