A philosophical (specifically epistemological) stance on 'what is real?' For those drawn towards philosophical realism, an objective and knowable reality exists indisputably 'outside' us and independently of our means of apprehending it - there are well-defined objects in the world which have inherent properties and fixed relations to each other at any instant. Realists usually acknowledge that 'social reality' is more subjective than 'physical reality' (which is seen as objective).