The empirical domain
Brad C. Anderson
In the empirical domain, individuals have observations and experiences. These observations and experiences are a result of actions and events in the actual domain.
The empirical domain constitutes the everyday experiences of our lives, such as the good day at work or the frustrating meeting you had with your boss. We seldom look beneath these experiences to see what drives them. By applying a critical realist framework, however, we can peer deeper into our social environment to gain insights into what is creating the experiences we have.
Key Takeaways
- The empirical domain is the surface level of social reality.
- The empirical domain contains observations/ experiences caused by actions in the actual domain.
In critical realist philosophy, the empirical domain is the highest layer of social reality where people observe and experience the actions and events that occurred in the actual domain.