THE SOCIO-ONTOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS OF CRITICAL THEORY:

A SELF-REFLECTION EXERCISE

Abstract

In this paper, we seek to defend the idea that the field of social ontology can and should interest the field of critical theory. For this, we emphasize that a social theory that is supposed to be self-reflexive cannot ignore the reflection on its own socio-ontological presuppositions. Thus, in a first moment, we will attempt to show how critical theory must presuppose a processual social ontology, insofar as it needs to regard social change as ontologically consistent. In a second moment, we will show that critical theory also needs to deal with substantialist ontological assumptions to understand the obstacles to emancipation. Finally, we will highlight the challenges to the compatibility of this dual perspective.