Metatheory: Time to take it seriously?

This article explores how metatheory can serve as an underlabourer, a supportive foundation, for anthropological inquiry. From a metatheoretical standpoint, I propose framing anthropological research as a partial totality spanning four interrelated elements: ontology, epistemology, axiology and methodology. To substantiate this core argument, I first examine the metatheoretical shyness that pervades the empirical social sciences and engage with prominent critiques of metatheoretical systems of knowledge. The article then turns to critical realism as an illustrative example of the major metatheoretical streams of our time. Drawing on fieldwork with citizen initiatives opposing energy policies in Greece, the article employs three examples – the literature review, modes of engagement and the relationship between first-order and second-order knowledge – to demonstrate the role of critical realist metatheory as an underlabourer for anthropological research. Through these three examples, the article illustrates how metatheories can serve both as a compass guiding anthropological research and as a bridge facilitating the mediation between anthropological knowledge and broader meta-level commitments. In conclusion, the article discusses the far-reaching political and epistemological stakes implicated in taking metatheory seriously in anthropological research.