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In recent years, methodological debates in the social sciences have increasingly focused on issues relating to epistemology. Realism and Sociology makes an original contribution to the debate, charting a middle ground between postmodernism and positivism.Critics often hold that realism tries to assume some definitive account of reality. Against this it is argued throughout the book that realism can combine a strong definition of social reality with an anti-foundational approach to knowledge. The position of realist anti-foundationalism that is argued for is developed and defended via the use o

Abstract
The critique of metaphysics can often entail a critique of liberalism. Rorty sought a revolutionary paradigm shift in philosophy and the broader humanities, by linking the rejection of metaphysics to a justification for liberal democracy and reformism. He believed that the recognition of socio-historical contingency concerning interpretations of fundamental values and of truth, combined with a humanities education, would create a sense of solidarity that would motivate reforms. Freire argues that a dialogic form of education is as important as the humanities' content. For Freire, people liberated by a critical education based on dialogue rather than a passive reception of information, can develop a radical critique of capitalism. Vattimo argues that while Heidegger saw techno-science as being the final phase in metaphysical domination, the contemporary development of information and communications technology creates a 'Babel-like' pluralism that undermines the 'violence' of metaphysic's totalising thought. This can allow for the development of a post-metaphysical 'weak communism' that improves social justice. Rorty and Freire help to show that it is education, rather than technological developments, that can motivate a post-metaphysical politics of solidarity, and Vattimo and Freire are correct to argue that replacing reformism with radical critique is needed for social justice, although Vattimo's weak communism only provides limited social justice.

Neoliberalism is a form of interventionism that seeks to pursue elite – corporate – interests. This means constructing a market rationality and constructing markets to better meet what the state takes to be elite interests. In the first phase of neoliberal interventionism in English higher education maintenance grants were replaced with loans, the National Student Survey was introduced to measure 'satisfaction', and the inadvertent creation of a £9000 fee-norm all helped to construct a market rationality in students. The second phase, which concerns the proposed reconstruction of the higher education market, started in November 2015 with the publication of the 'Fulfilling our Potential' Green Paper. This proposes to make it less bureaucratically cumbersome for 'for-profits' to enter the market. In terms of audit culture, a Teaching Excellence Framework is proposed, which would include representatives from employers and professional groups, along with academic experts on teaching, and students, on the assessment panels. Further, universities need to be 'open to involving employers and learned societies representing professions in curriculum design [and developing] a positive work ethic, so [graduates] can contribute more effectively to our efforts to boost the productivity of UK economy' (BIS, 2015(a): 11). The Green Paper also holds that 'at least 20% of graduates are not working in high skilled employment three and a half years after graduation and most employers of STEM graduates are concerned about shortages of high quality applicants' (BIS 2015(a): 10–11). This contributes to prior messages from the Conservatives that non-STEM subjects are less useful for employment.

Most discussion about critical realism concerns the concepts of structure and agency. This neglects Bhaskar's arguments about facts and values. Bhaskar argues that we can move from facts to values with 'explanatory critiques' and from values to facts with 'descriptively adequate' accounts of 'value impregnated' events. The argument in this article is that both of Bhaskar's arguments are untenable and that the alternative is the value-to-value argument.

Critical realists argue that the condition of possibility of the sciences is that they are based on a correct set of ontological assumptions or definitions. The task of philosophy is to underlabor for the sciences, by ensuring that the explanations developed are congruent with the ontological condition of possibility of the sciences. This requires critical realists to justify their claims about ontology and, to do this, they turn to ontological assumptions that are held to obtain in natural scientific knowledge and social agents' lay knowledge. A number of problems with this approach are discussed and a problem-solving alternative is advocated.

Sayer argues that Popper defended a logicist philosophy of science. The problem with such logicism is that it creates what is termed here as a `truncated foundationalism', which restricts epistemic certainty to the logical form of scientific theories whilst having nothing to say about their substantive contents. Against this it is argued that critical realism, which Sayer advocates, produces a linguistic version of truncated foundationalism and that Popper's problem-solving philosophy, with its emphasis on developing knowledge through criticism, eschews all forms of foundationalism and is better able to account for the development of substantive knowledge claims.