PHILOSOPHICAL REALISM: HISTORY, THOUGHT, BRANCHES - PHILOSOPHY - 2025

The philosophical realism is a current with several lines of thought that says that objects exist independently of the observer. Although the realists looked for references in the old Greek philosophers, the doctrine appears in the Average Age.

At that time they sought to differentiate themselves from the so-called nominalists, who did not believe in the existence of universal concepts. For example, they claimed that the term “table” designates many different objects that only have precisely the name in common.

Plato, one of the philosophers taken as a reference in philosophical realism

That is, there were no so-called "universals", which would be the set of all those objects that are known by a single name.

As for the Greek referents previously discussed, the realists named philosophers such as Democritus -the oldest among them-, Plato and Aristotle.

In this way, the concept of Platonic realism was discussed, which believed in universal concepts. Similarly, it was considered that Aristotle practiced the so-called moderate realism.

Apart from the moderate, other branches coexist within philosophical realism, such as naive, critical or natural.

One of the practical developments of this philosophy has been in the field of education. Realism in pedagogy tries to establish teaching methods different from the prevailing constructivism in recent decades.

Thought in philosophical realism

One of the main themes that philosophy has dealt with since its inception is existence and how human beings perceive it.

There are many schools with different theories: from idealism to instrumentalism, passing through realism.

The fundamental difference between these theories is how they conceive ontology (if the external world to man exists independently) and gnoseology (if that external world can be known).

Realism tries to answer these questions and does so in a way that is far removed from the philosophers who put the idea of ​​objects before their real existence, and from those others who think that matter is non-existent if the human being does not. perceive.

To summarize the content of realistic thought, it can be stated that it is the philosophical current that believes that all material objects have their own existence, regardless of their relationship with man.

characteristics

The fundamental points to understand philosophical realism are contained in the maxim that objects are real regardless of someone observing them. And the human being knows that reality through his senses.

Regarding the field of knowledge, also an important issue in this current, it is established that the individual is passive.

This implies that each person is a kind of empty vessel that is filled with knowledge. What is important is what is learned, not the circumstances of the people.

History

Despite the fact that, as a current of thought, it appears in the Middle Ages, the philosophers were based on some authors of Greek philosophy.

These authors had already begun to consider these dilemmas and left their teachings on the subject.

Plato, Democritus and Aristotle

Although many authors do not agree with the presence of Plato in realism, his philosophy was part of the beginning of this current in the Middle Ages.

At that time, people began to speak of Platonic realism, which affirmed the real existence of universals. To give an example that clarifies the idea, the name "chair" refers to a kind of general nature of this piece of furniture.

Thus, the idea "chair" is independent of each particular chair. This "universal", as Plato called these ideas, does have a metaphysical existence.

Democritus connects much better with realistic ideas, more specifically with the so-called critical realism.

This thinker, recognizing that objects exist by themselves, thinks that there are certain qualities that are contributed by each person when perceiving them with their senses.

Finally, Aristotle disagrees with Democritus' thinking and points out that those properties that are perceived also exist independently of what the observer thinks. It is the so-called natural realism.

Middle Ages

It is in medieval philosophy when realism really appears, although they collected these classical contributions.

At that time the term was more similar to that used by Plato in his writings and was born as a reaction to other thoughts, such as nominalism and conceptualism.

In this way, the philosophers of that time considered that the universals described by Plato were real but only in the mind, and that they are inspired by things that do exist.

XIX century and Modern Age

After the Enlightenment and Romanticism, periods during which realism practically disappeared replaced by idealists, philosophical realism reappeared with force in the nineteenth century.

Realists claim that only what we perceive and experience during life is real. The concept "reality" in the abstract does not exist for them, only the experience of people.

Movements such as neorealism and the great strength that science acquires (scientific realism) make this trend the most followed for a long time.

Main branches within philosophical realism

As in all currents of thought, in philosophical realism different lines coexist with significant differences between them.

There have also been variations depending on the time, influenced by the historical context. These are some of the main ones, along with the most important thinkers:

Naive realism

This kind of realism does not pose any question about knowledge. For the followers of this current, what is observed or perceived is what exists, including the peculiarities of each object.

Critical realism

Although it coincides in some things with the previous ones, it does not think that reality is in its totality as the senses perceive it.

For them, each person contributes part of their subjectivity to each object. Authors such as Roy Bhaskar or Rom Harré stand out

Moderate realism

It is the one that prevails during the Middle Ages and, as previously explained, believes in the existence of universals, although not as something material, but as a mental concept.

As authors can be named Sartre, Schopenhauer and, in some respects, Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Scientific realism

In this type of realism, what prevails is the importance of science to achieve knowledge. Thus, science has to be in charge of describing reality, which exists as something independent of the observations of each individual.

This is a more modern trend than the others and philosophers such as Mario Bunge or the Finnish Ilkka Niiniluoto can be highlighted.

Philosophical realism and education

One of the practical fields in which philosophical realism has been most discussed is in pedagogy. In the search for the best possible educational system, it has tried to use this current of thought so that young people learn better.

In teaching based on realism, the important thing ceases to be the student and becomes completely the subject to be taught.

All the weight of the process falls on the professor, who must explain to his pupils the truths that science has established; that is, all of reality.

The student is a kind of empty jar that must be completed with objective knowledge. It does not take into account the personal characteristics of each one, so it is not an individualized teaching.

References

1. Filosofia.org. Medieval realism. Obtained from Philosophy.org
2. Maris Vazquez, Stella. The Philosophy of Education. Recovered from ciafic.edu.ar
3. Philosophy Basics. Realism. Retrieved from philosophybasics.com
4. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Realism. Retrieved from plato.stanford.edu
5. Information Philosopher. Realism. Retrieved from informationphilosopher.com
6. Philosophy Terms. Realism. Retrieved from philosophyterms.com
7. Foundations of American Education. Philosophies of education. Obtained from handpfoundationsofamericaneducation.blogspot.com.es