Realism and antirealism are two sides of a philosophical debate behind the whole basis of accepted

scientific truth.

‘Realism and anti-realism’ is concerned with the debate between scientific realism and its converse,
anti-realism or instrumentalism.
More broadly, Realism and Antirealism points of view concern whether certain linguistic terms
we use do exist and if they exist, are they independent of our minds. Both realism and
antirealism address numerous subject matters: concepts, mathematical objects, moral values,
and unobservable theoretical particles.

What is Realism?

Realism, in the simplest terms, is all about representing people, situations, or things as they are
— close to life, without any sugar-coating. It encourages us to accept situations as they are and
be prepared to handle them. It's like seeing the world through clear glasses, not rose-tinted ones.
But let's break it down a bit more.

Realism is straightforward: it's about keeping it real. It's an attitude where you face situations as
they are, not how you wish they were. It's not pessimistic, but it's not overly optimistic either. It's
just real. Here's how you can understand it:

 Acceptance: Realism is about accepting situations as they are. It's not about dreaming of what could be, but understanding what is.
 Preparation: Being realistic also means being ready to deal with situations. If it's raining, you bring an umbrella, right? That's realism.

Another aspect of the definition of realism is how it applies to representation. This is particularly
true in areas like art, literature, and even day-to-day life. When you're being realistic, you
represent things as they are, not as you'd like them to be. Here are a few ways to think about it:

 Accuracy: Realism is about accuracy. If you're painting a picture of a tree, you paint it as it is, not as you imagine it could be.
 Truthfulness: Being true to life is a big part of realism. It's about being honest and true in your representation, whether that's in a story
you're telling, a picture you're drawing, or a situation you're describing.

So, to sum it up: the definition of realism is about acceptance, preparation, accuracy, and
truthfulness. It's about keeping it real, in every sense of the word. Now, let's look at some
examples of realism to make this even clearer.

Examples of Realism
Now that we have a clearer understanding of the definition of realism, let's dive into some real-
world examples.
Realism in Literature

Realism has played a significant role in literature. Many authors use realism to present authentic
depictions of life and society. The characters, events, and settings in these books mirror the real
world. They don't take us to a magical land but instead portray the world as it is. Here are an
examples:

1. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain: This book depicts the life of a young boy in a small town. Every detail reflects
the ordinary life of that era, making it a great example of realism.

Realism in Art

Just as in literature, realism in art involves capturing the world as it exists, without exaggeration
or distortion. Realist artists focus on capturing everyday scenes and people in their works.
examples:

1. Gustave Courbet: Known as the leader of the Realist movement in 19th-century French painting, Courbet is famous for his works
such as "The Stone Breakers," which depicts two laborers in a stark rural setting.

Reality is complex, filled with a mixture of joy, sorrow, struggle, and peace. Realism, whether in
literature or art, aims to capture this complexity, presenting a true-to-life portrayal of the world
around us.

What is Antirealism?
In philosophy, the term anti-realism is used to describe any position involving either the denial of the objective reality of entities of a certain type or the insistence

that we should be agnostic about their real existence. Thus, we may speak of anti-realism with respect to other minds, the past, the future, universals, mathematical

entities (such as natural numbers), moral categories, the material world, or even thought

In analytic philosophy, anti-realism is a position which encompasses many varieties such as

metaphysical, mathematical, semantic, scientific, moral and epistemic. The term was first articulated
by British philosopher Michael Dummett in an argument against a form of realism Dummett saw as
'colorless reductionism'.[1]
In anti-realism, the truth of a statement rests on its demonstrability through internal logic
mechanisms, such as the context principle or intuitionistic logic, in direct opposition to the realist
notion that the truth of a statement rests on its correspondence to an external, independent reality.
[2]
In anti-realism, this external reality is hypothetical and is not assumed. [3][4]
Anti-realism in its most general sense can be understood as being in contrast to a generic realism,
which holds that distinctive objects of a subject-matter exist and have properties independent of
one's beliefs and conceptual schemes.[5] The ways in which anti-realism rejects these type of claims
can vary dramatically. Because this encompasses statements containing abstract ideal objects (i.e.
mathematical objects), anti-realism may apply to a wide range of philosophical topics, from material
objects to the theoretical entities of science, mathematical statements, mental states, events and
processes, the past and the future.[6]
Examples
1. Realism:

o “The sun rises in the east.”

o “Water boils at 100°C at sea level.”

o “Electrons have negative charge.”

2. Anti-realism:

o “The concept of ‘justice’ is purely a human invention.”

o “Moral values are subjective and vary across cultures.”

o “Numbers are abstract constructs; they don’t exist independently in the world.”

Remember, these examples highlight the contrasting perspectives of realism (which asserts the
objective existence of external entities) and anti-realism (which questions or denies such objective
existence). 🌟

DIFFERENCE

Anti-realism, as defined by Braver, is the denial of an objective reality. Whereas realism would
put an interest in aspects of what is real and true, Anti-realism puts an emphasis on what is
speculated on and what is abstract
More broadly, Realism and Antirealism points of view concern whether certain linguistic terms
we use do exist and if they exist, are they independent of our minds. Both realism and
antirealism address numerous subject matters: concepts, mathematical objects, moral values,
and unobservable theoretical particles.
Some examples of Realism include: The Portrait of a Lady, Madame Bovary, and The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. A few examples of Naturalism include: McTeague, The Red
Badge of Courage, and The Sun Also Rises.
Realism (including neorealism) focuses on abiding patterns of interaction in an international
system lacking a centralized political authority. That condition of anarchy means that the logic of
international politics often differs from that of domestic politics, which is regulated by a
sovereign power.