Contents -- 1. The Varieties of Realism -- 1.1 The problems of realism -- 1.2 Science and other belief systems -- 1.3 Critical scientific realism and its rivals -- 1.4 Realism and the method of philosophy -- 2. Realism in Ontology -- 2.1 Materialism, dualism, and idealism -- 2.2 Popper's three worlds -- 2.3 Existence, mind-independence, and reality -- 2.4 The world and its furniture -- 2.5 Arguments for ontological realism -- 3. Realism in Semantics -- 3.1 Language as representation -- 3.2 Logical, analytic, and factual truth -- 3.3 How semantics is effable: model theory -- 3.4 Truth as correspondence: Tarski's definition -- 3.5 Truthlikeness -- 4. Realism in Epistemology -- 4.1 Certainty, scepticism, and fallibilism -- 4.2 Knowledge of the external world -- 4.3 Kant's 'Copernican revolution' -- 4.4 Critical epistemological realism -- 4.5 Epistemic probability and verisimilitude -- 4.6 Epistemic theories of truth -- 5. Realism in Theory Construction -- 5.1 Descriptivism, instrumentalism, and realism -- 5.2 Meaning variance, reference, and theoretical terms -- 5.3 Laws, truthlikeness, and idealization -- 5.4 Examples of the realism debate -- 6. Realism in Methodology -- 6.1 Measuring the success of science -- 6.2 Axiology and methodological rules -- 6.3 Theory-choice, underdetermination, and simplicity -- 6.4 From empirical success to truthlikeness -- 6.5 Explaining the success of science -- 6.6 Rationality and progress in science -- 7. Internal Realism -- 7.1 Ways of worldmaking -- 7.2 Putnam on internal realism -- 7.3 World-versions and identified objects -- 8. Relativism -- 8.1 Varieties of relativism -- 8.2 Moral relativism -- 8.3 Cognitive relativism -- 8.4 Feminist philosophy of science -- 9. Social Constructivism -- 9.1 The Edinburgh programme: strong or wrong? -- 9.2 Finitism -- 9.3 Life in laboratory -- 10. Realism, Science, and Society.

10.1 Social reasons for realism and anti-realism -- 10.2 Science as a cultural value -- 10.3 Science in a free society -- References -- Index of Names -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Z -- Index of Subjects -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W.