Evaluating the Philosophies of Theory-Building in Case Studies

Authors

  • Brent D. Slife
  • Michael Richardson

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14713/pcsp.v5i3.981

Keywords:

case study, case history, theory-building, ontology, epistemology, hermeneutic realism, ontological relationality, philosophy of science, "Consumer Reports" model

Abstract

The purpose of this reply to Stiles’ (2009) article is threefold: identify his particular philosophy of theory-building, expose some of its problems for evaluation, and describe another philosophy of theory-building as a point of comparison. The article begins by describing how Stiles’ philosophical approach to theory-building is ontologically dualist in nature. Dualism is evident in his view of experience, signs, meanings, knowledge, and truth. We point not only to general problems with this dualism but also to specific problems with Stiles’ particular formulation. We then describe a nondualist philosophy in a successful case study movement outside psychology, namely Consumer Reports car ratings. It is only in comparison with such nondualist approaches that we can begin to evaluate Stiles’ proposal and properly serve the important project of case study evaluation.

Author Biography

Brent D. Slife

Dan Fishman, Ph.D. Editor-in-Chief, Pragmatic Case Studies in Psychotherapy Professor of Clinical and Organizational Psychology Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology Rutgers University Mailing address: 57 Jaffray Court Irvington, NY 10533 914-693-8549 fax: 603-917-2567 email: dfish96198@aol.com

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Published

2009-09-14

Issue

Section

Case Method