In medieval philosophy, the position that universal concepts and categories have real, independent existence beyond individual objects, opposing nominalism in the great scholastic debate about the nature of reality.
From Medieval Latin 'realis' meaning 'relating to things,' derived from 'res' (thing, reality). The philosophical term developed during scholastic debates about whether abstract concepts like 'beauty' or 'goodness' existed as real entities or were merely human mental constructions.
Medieval realism wasn't about painting realistic pictures—it was about whether abstract ideas like 'perfect circle' or 'justice' actually exist somewhere in reality! This ancient debate between realists and nominalists essentially asked whether Plato's 'world of forms' was real or just wishful thinking.
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