CRITICAL REALISM

Critical realism is a philosophical framework that distinguishes between the "real" world and the "observable" world, asserting that reality exists independently of human perception and knowledge. It posits that while human beings can strive to understand this reality, knowledge is limited and fallible. It means that reality is not simply a construct of our minds or perception. Critical realism acknowledges that complex phenomena, such as social structure and human behavior, emerge from the interaction of simpler elements. This means we cannot simply reduce social phenomena to individual explanations. In essence, Critical realism attempts to bridge the gap between ontology (the nature of being) and epistemology(the nature of knowledge) by recognizing both the existence of an external reality and the limitations of human understanding. This theory postulates that some of our sense-data can accurately represent external objects, properties and events, while simultaneously forming a misrepresentation or erroneous conclusion with other sense-data. Most of reality is invisible to the observer. According to critical realists the things we can't see cause the things we can see.