Realism vs. anti-realism debate

The realism vs. anti-realism debate concerns whether scientific theories describe an objective reality independent of our beliefs. Realists believe that scientific theories reveal true aspects of the world, even if we can't fully access them. Anti-realists argue that theories are merely useful tools for predicting phenomena and don't necessarily reflect an ultimate, mind-independent reality. Essentially, realism emphasizes the trustworthiness of scientific knowledge about the world, while anti-realism views scientific theories as models or approximations that may not depict the true nature of reality.