ABSTRACT
Using the example of slavery to illuminate concepts, this chapter introduces critical realism and considers its application to the question of the legitimacy of any argument that supports moral beliefs, positions or theories. The importance of this question is that the dominant perspective is to use Hume’s distinction between facts and values to dismiss any argument which contains the value terms that are central to moral theorising as invalid. Critical realists argue against this perspective, as they consider that the concept of explanatory critique - which is found in Bhaskar’s Basic Critical Realism (1975,1979,1986) - demonstrates that the logical divide between facts and values cannot be maintained; and this creates the possibility of developing legitimate arguments for moral positions. To describe this position, the ontological aspect of the metatheory is explored in more detail than is normally undertaken within an enquiry into moral questions This is because a description of the metatheory is not just necessary for an understanding of the critical realist approach to the specific question considered in this chapter but is essential for any critical assessment of the moral theories, that are facilitated by the positive answer to this specific question in the rest of this book.
