Schools of Thought
Compare Schools
Select up to 5 schools to compare their attributes side by side. Rows with differing values are highlighted.
Select schools to compare:
#1
Realism
#2
Idealism
#3
Existentialism
#4
Pragmatism
#5
Phenomenology
#6
Relativism
#7
Determinism
#8
Presentism
#9
Eternalism
#10
Multiverse Theory
#11
Simulation Theory
#12
Naturalism
#13
Relationalism
#14
Quantum Realism
#15
Dualism
#16
Panpsychism
#17
Pragmatic Realism
#18
Process Philosophy
#19
Structuralism
#20
Postmodernism
#21
Dialectical Materialism
#22
Absurdism
#23
Phenomenalism
#24
Critical Realism
✓
#25
Empiricism
#26
Rationalism
#27
Transcendentalism
#28
Solipsism
#29
Buddhism
#30
Kantian Transcendental Idealism
#31
Stoicism
#32
Constructivism
#33
Advaita Vedanta
#34
Catholic/Thomistic
#35
Nihilism
#36
Reformed / Calvinist Theology
#37
Neo-Platonism
#38
Analytic Metaphysics / Logical Atomism
#39
Logical Positivism
#40
Taoism
#41
Confucianism
#42
Jainism / Anekantavada
#43
Samkhya
#44
Occasionalism
#45
Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO)
#46
Pyrrhonism
#47
Sufism / Wahdat al-Wujud
#48
Kabbalah (Lurianic)
#49
Hylomorphism
#50
Neutral Monism
#51
Yogacara
#52
Zoroastrianism
#53
Deep Ecology
#54
Dataism / Information Ontology
#55
Animism / Relational-Indigenous Worldview
#56
Ubuntu / African Communal Ontology
#57
Transhumanism / Posthumanism
#58
Psychedelic / Entheogenic Worldview
#59
Afrofuturism / Black Quantum Futurism
#60
Gamer / Virtual-Realist Worldview
#61
Wellness / Energetic Worldview
| Attribute |
#24
Critical Realism
Bhaskar
|
|---|---|
| Time · Extent | Infinite |
| Time · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Time · Grain | Continuous |
| Time · Freedom | Non-Deterministic |
| Time · Traversability | Linear |
| Time · Dimensionality | One |
| Time · Direction | Uni-directional |
| Space · Extent | Infinite |
| Space · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Space · Curvature | Curved |
| Space · Dimensionality | Three |
| Space · Locality | Local |
| Matter · Extent | Finite |
| Matter · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Matter · Conservation | Conserved |
| Matter · Dimensionality | Three |
| Matter · Locality | Local |
| Observer · Time Instance | Single |
| Observer · Space Instance | Single |
| Observer · Knowledge Extent | Immediate |
| Observer · Knowledge Retainment | Total |
| Observer · Physicality | Embodied |
| Observer · Agency | Active |
| Observer · Number | Plural |
| Energy · Extent | Finite |
| Energy · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Energy · Conservation | Conserved |
| Energy · Dispersibility | Irreversible |
| Information · Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Information · Conservation | Conserved |
| Information · Granularity | Continuous |
| Observer Analysis (Full Text) | |
| Critical Realism | The observer is an embodied, socially situated being who perceives a real world that exists independently of perception — but whose access to that world is always mediated and fallible. Direct experience is immediate and limited, yet through critical inquiry the observer can penetrate beneath surface appearances to discover the deep structures and causal mechanisms that generate observable phenomena. Knowledge accumulates: each inquiry builds on previous understanding, progressively approximating a reality that is always richer and more layered than any single account. The observer is active — reality is real but our theories about it are human constructs, always open to revision. Multiple observers collaborate in this critical enterprise, pooling perspectives to see past individual biases. |