Realism

Abstract

Realism in a generic sense is usually understood in terms of the mind‐independence of the world or particular entities within it. This entry introduces realism and considers the multiple forms it takes within the social sciences: the critical realism which originated with the British philosopher Roy Bhaskar and has subsequently been developed by a range of thinkers across the social sciences; the Italian school of relational sociology developed by Pierpaolo Donati with its concern to stress the reality of social relations; and finally, the recent turn toward realism within Continental philosophy is considered, with a particular focus on the work of Manuel De Landa.