Critical Realism

A philosophy of science developed by Roy Bhaskar that offers a middle position between positivism (reality is only what can be empirically observed) and radical constructivism (reality is entirely socially constructed). Critical realism holds that reality exists independently of our descriptions, but we can only know it through fallible, interpretive, socially constructed models. It emphasizes underlying mechanisms rather than observable surfaces, allowing for "stratification"—layers of mechanisms where lower levels explain higher ones. In disability studies, critical realism supports understanding disability as an interaction between individual factors (impairment, personality, attitude) and structural factors (social attitudes, environment, economic conditions), capturing the complexity that neither purely medical nor purely social models address. This perspective has been proposed as a philosophical foundation for assistive technology research that considers biological, psychological, social, cultural, and normative dimensions simultaneously.