Realism

Introduction
Varieties of philosophical realism
Realism in ontology
- Universals
- Abstract entities and modern nominalism
- Possible worlds
Realism and idealism
Realism and truth
- Reductionism, error theories, and projectivism
- Moral realism
- Scientific realism and instrumentalism
Metaphysical realism and objective truth
- Metaphysical realism and antirealism
- “Modest” objective truth

References & Edit History Related Topics

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realism summary

Related Questions

How can a statement be true even if nobody believes it?
How could antirealism about truth affect classical mathematics?
How did Augustin-Jean Fresnel’s theory of light successfully predict the Poisson bright spot?
How did G.E. Moore defend commonsense realism about the external world?
How did George Berkeley’s idealism differ from realism about material objects?
How did Grover Maxwell use microscopes and telescopes to challenge the observable-unobservable distinction?
How did Hilary Putnam describe the truth defended by metaphysical realism?
How did Ludwig Wittgenstein’s idea of language games influence some forms of religious antirealism?
How did Michael Dummett challenge the idea of truths that can never be recognized?
How did William of Ockham argue against the independent existence of universals?
How did legal realism challenge the idea that written laws fully explain judicial decisions?
How do realists connect experiments with beliefs about unobservable causes?
How do scientific realists use the success of scientific theories to support their position?
How does Bas van Fraassen’s constructive empiricism differ from scientific realism?
How does G.E. Moore’s open question argument challenge attempts to define moral goodness in natural terms?
How does Plato’s theory of Forms represent a form of realism about universals?
How does Simon Blackburn’s quasi-realism try to explain moral language without special moral facts?
How does instrumentalism view scientific theories?
How does internal realism connect truth with ideal rational acceptability?
How does metaphysical realism understand truth?
How does moral realism treat claims about right and wrong actions?
How does nominalism explain general words such as “redness” without independent universals?
How does philosophical realism describe the relationship between the mind and the external world?
How does piecemeal realism evaluate different parts of a scientific theory?
How does religious realism interpret the claim that God exists?
What challenge does the existence of moral facts pose for moral realism?
What does Aristotle mean by saying that universals exist in things?
What does empirical adequacy mean in Bas van Fraassen’s philosophy of science?
What is the pessimistic induction from the history of science?
Why can a scientific theory make accurate predictions even if one of its claims is false?
Why do instrumentalists focus on predictions about observable phenomena?
Why do modern scientists reject Fresnel’s idea of an all-pervading ether?
Why do philosophical realists argue that objects can exist independently of human thought?
Why do scientific realists question the distinction between observable and unobservable entities?
Why does Dummett’s antirealism raise questions about the law of excluded middle?
Why is objectivity important to philosophical realism?
Why is the scientific success argument sometimes called the ultimate argument for realism?
What are some general characteristics of postmodernism?
What do postmodernists believe?
How is postmodernism related to relativism?
Where did Marxism come from?
Why is Marxism important?
How is Marxism different from other forms of socialism?
How does Marxism differ from Leninism?

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External Websites

The Victorian Web - Realism
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Realism
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Political Realism

Realism

philosophy

Written by

Bob Hale

Professor of Philosophy, University of Sheffield. Author (with Crispin Wright) of The Reason's Proper Study: Essays Towards a Neo-Fregean Philosophy of Mathematics and others.

Bob Hale

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Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 4, 2026 •History

Realism, in philosophy, the viewpoint which accords to things which are known or perceived an existence or nature which is independent of whether anyone is thinking about or perceiving them. The history of Western philosophy is checkered with disputes between those who have defended forms of realism and those who have opposed them. While there are certainly significant similarities linking the variety of positions commonly described as realist, there are also important differences which obstruct...

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