Realism

About: Realism is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 10799 publications have been published within this topic receiving 175785 citations.

Moral Objectivity and Reasonable Agreement: Can Realism Be Reconciled with Kantian Constructivism?

Abstract: . In this paper I analyze the tension between realism and antirealism at the basis of Kantian constructivism. This tension generates a conflictive account of the source of the validity of social norms. On the one hand, the claim to moral objectivity characteristic of Kantian moral theories makes the validity of norms depend on realist assumptions concerning the existence of shared fundamental interests among all rational human beings. I illustrate this claim through a comparison of the approaches of Rawls, Habermas and Scanlon. On the other hand, however, objections to moral realism motivate many Kantian constructivists to endorse the antirealist claim that reasonable agreement is the source of the validity of social norms. After analyzing the difficulties in the latter strategy, I try to show how a balance between the realist and antirealist elements of Kantian constructivism can be reached by drawing a sharper distinction between the justice and the legitimacy of social norms.

In defense of convergent realism

Abstract: Many realists have maintained that the success of scientific theories can be explained only if they may be regarded as approximately true. Laurens Laudan has in turn contended that a necessary condition for a theory's being approximately true is that its central terms refer, and since many successful theories of the past have employed central terms which we now understand to be non-referential, realism cannot explain their success. The present paper argues that a realist can adopt a view of reference according to which a theory might plausibly be said to be approximately true even though its central terms do not refer, or alternatively, he may construe reference in such a way as to assign reference to a range of successful older theories which includes Laudan's purported counterexamples.

Another Realism: The Politics of Gandhian Nonviolence

Abstract: Although Gandhi is often taken to be an exemplary moral idealist in politics, this article seeks to demonstrate that Gandhian nonviolence is premised on a form of political realism, specifically a contextual, consequentialist, and moral-psychological analysis of a political world understood to be marked by inherent tendencies toward conflict, domination, and violence. By treating nonviolence as the essential analog and correlative response to a realist theory of politics, one can better register the novelty of satyagraha (nonviolent action) as a practical orientation in politics as opposed to a moral proposition, ethical stance, or standard of judgment. The singularity of satyagraha lays in its self-limiting character as a form of political action that seeks to constrain the negative consequences of politics while working toward progressive social and political reform. Gandhian nonviolence thereby points toward a transformational realism that need not begin and end in conservatism, moral equivocation, or pure instrumentalism.

The Nature of Television Realism Judgments: A Reevaluation of Their Conceptualization and Measurement

Abstract: In this article, we review previous conceptualizations of perceived reality judgments of television content. We argue that the perceived reality literature suffers from conceptual inconsistencies that have the potential to interfere with understanding the research taken as a whole and with the success of future studies. We analyze 3 major variants in perceived realism judgments. The first consists of conceptual dimensions (e.g., magic window and social realism). We argue that labels and definitions have been assigned inconsistently in previous research. Redundancies and inconsistencies are addressed. Six primary dimensions are identified and described. The second is measurement features. We point out that perceived realism judgments may vary in specificity (e.g., the realism of television in general or the realism of a specific program) and object of judgment (e.g., the realism of characters or the realism of issues). The third variant is processing characteristics. Realism judgments may be made while ref...

Back to Reality: A Critique of Postmodern Theory in Psychotherapy

Abstract: This work provides an analysis of postmodern/narrative theory, with its underlying antirealist/constructivist philosophy that the subject makes rather than discovers reality. The author sees the ascent of this theory as a misguided attempt to solve a recalcitrant problem within psychotherapy: how to achieve a theory that attends to the uniqueness of each client and yet preserves a systematic, replicable enterprise. As an alternative she introduces readers to the integrative/eclectic therapy movement and proposes a "modest realism".