Critical Realism
Critical Realism combines a realist ontology (the belief that reality exists independently of our perceptions) with a critical epistemology (the belief that our knowledge of reality is always mediated by social and cultural factors).
I. Time
| Extent | Infinite |
| Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Grain | Continuous |
| Freedom | Non-Deterministic |
| Traversability | Linear |
| Dimensionality | One |
| Direction | Uni-directional |
Time is substantival and infinite — a real, objective dimension of a stratified reality that exists independently of our knowledge of it. Time is continuous, linear, and uni-directional. Critical realism insists that the deep structures of temporal reality may not be directly observable but can be known through theoretical inquiry and retroductive reasoning.
II. Space
| Extent | Infinite |
| Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Curvature | Curved |
| Dimensionality | Three |
| Locality | Local |
Space is substantival, infinite, and curved — an objective feature of a stratified reality. It is local and three-dimensional, but its deep structure may include unobservable spatial mechanisms and powers. Critical realism holds that our spatial concepts approximate but never fully capture the independent spatial reality.
III. Matter
| Extent | Finite |
| Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Conservation | Conserved |
| Dimensionality | Three |
| Locality | Local |
Matter is substantival, finite, and locally situated — it is a real, independently existing substance within a stratified ontology. Matter possesses real causal powers and tendencies that operate whether or not they are observed. Conservation holds because the deep structures of material reality are real and enduring.
IV. Observer
| Time Instance | Single |
| Space Instance | Single |
| Extent of Knowledge | Immediate |
| Retainment of Knowledge | Total |
| Physicality | Embodied |
| Agency | Active |
| Number | Plural |
V. Energy
Energy is substantival and finite — a real feature of the deep structure of physical reality. Conservation is strict: energy obeys objective natural laws whether or not we observe them. Dispersibility is irreversible as a feature of the real temporal ordering of causal processes.
VI. Information
Real informational structures exist in a stratified reality — some are directly observable, others are deep structural information accessible only through theoretical inquiry.