I apologize for the Scribd format of this post. Unfortunately I was unable to figure outhow to post a chart in Wordpress, so I had to use Scribd to upload this chart. In my view thischart draws some useful distinctions for thinking the objects of object-oriented ontology, as wellas for distinguishing questions of epistemology and ontology. In
Realist Theory of Science
, RoyBhaskar presents the following chart to distinguish the different domains of reality (RTS, 13):Figure 0.1: Domains of RealityThe domain of the
real
refers to agencies that are independent of both mind and society. Thedomain of the
actual
refers to events that take place. While the domain of the
empirical
refers towhat is observed or sensed by human beings.For Bhaskar, the agencies belonging to the domain of the
real
consists of what he calls“generative mechanisms” or “causal mechanisms”. The generative mechanisms are mind- andsociety-independent in the sense that they function or act regardless of whether or not anyoneobserves them or knows about or observes them. The point here is
not
that humans cannot
relate
to these mechanisms-- such relations are the whole point of
inquiry
--but that these generativemechanisms are not
dependent
on humans to exist and act. In Bhaskar’s language, thesegenerative mechanisms are
intransitive
to the human. “Intransitive” is just a fancy way of sayingthat they are independent of minds and the social. Thus, for example, the generative mechanismsof various diseases do not themselves
change
with our
theories
of these diseases.
If
the causes of certain fits of shaking uncontrollably are
neurological
,
our
shift from explaining these fits interms of demonic position to a neurological disorder (epilepsy) is not a shift in the
generativemechanism
itself. The generative mechanism is what it always was. It’s the theory that changes.Consequently, the intransitive dimension of generative mechanisms is to be distinguishedfrom what Bhaskar refers to as the
transitive
dimension. The term “transitive” should, above all,evoke connotations of “transition”. Where the intransitive dimension refers to mind-independentgenerative mechanisms that act regardless of whether or not they are observed or known, the“transitive” refers to the domain of the social where we have shifting and changing theoriesstriving to get at this intransitive dimension.The domain of the
actual
, as opposed to the
real
, refers to
events
that are caused by thesegenerative mechanisms. Here, for example, we might think of the difference between a lightningstrike and the generative mechanism by which that lightning strike is produced. The lightningstrike belongs to the domain of the actual. It is an event that takes place in nature. By contrast,the domain of the real is the generative mechanism by which the lightning is produced.Likewise, we might consider the difference between genes and a phenotypal characteristic suchas eye color or hair color produced by genes. Genes here are the generative mechanism, whilethe hair or eye color is the actuality. If Bhaskar draws a distinction between the real composedof generative mechanisms and the actual composed of events, then this is because generativemechanisms can be present, along with the conditions for the actualization or triggering of theseDomain of RealDomain of ActualDomain of EmpiricalMechanismsXEventsXXExperiencesXXX
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