现实主义是文学艺术的基本创作方法之一,其实际运用时间相当早远,但直到19世纪50年代才由法国画家库尔贝和作家夏夫列里作为一个名称提出来,恩格斯为“现实主义”下的定义是：除了细节的真实外,还要真实的再现典型环境中的典型人物.(1888年4月初致玛.哈克奈斯信) 　　在文学艺术创作中,现实主义是与浪漫主义并驾齐驱两大思潮,其注重事实或现实；不受理想主义、臆测或感伤主义影响的客观过程；客观地而不凭感情地去处理思想和行动,反对一切不切实际或空想的性格. 　　Asatermofartinphilosophy,realismreferstoathesisthatgeneralproperties,technicallyknownasuniversals,haveamodeofexistenceoraformofrealitythatisinacertainsenseindependentofthethingsthatpossessthem.Opposingtheses,knownasnominalism,andconceptualism,holdthatuniversalsarenotrealordonotproperlyexist,thatonlyindividualsandparticularsexist,andthatitisonlythecorrespondinggeneralconceptsofthoughtoruniversaltermsoflanguage,servingasequivocaldenotationsofmanyparticularthings,thatdeceivethemindintothinkingso.PhilosophicalrealismisalsoreferredtoasPlatonicrealismorScholasticrealism,dependingonthenuancesoftheparticularvariantinmind.Insomeversionsofrealism,instarkcontrasttoeverydayusage,adistinctionisdrawnbetweenexistenceandreality,basedontheideathatpotentialscanberealbutthatonlyactualscanexist. 　　Inaseparatecontextofdiscussion,realismiscontrastedwithbothidealismandmaterialism,andismorecontroversiallyconsideredbyotherstobesynonymouswiththepositioninthephilosophyofmindknownasdualism.Inrecenttransmogrificationsoftheword,realismiscontrastedwithanti-realismandirrealism. 　　Increasinglytheselastdisputes,too,arerejectedasmisleading,andsomephilosophersprefertocallthekindofrealismespousedtheremetaphysicalrealismandeschewthewholedebateinfavourofsimplenaturalismornaturalrealism,whichisnotsomuchatheoryasthepositionthatthesedebatesareill-conceived,ifnotincoherent,andthatthereisnomoretodecidingwhatisreallyrealthansimplytakingourwordsatfacevalue. 　　Realisminphilosophycanalsorefertootherformsofrealismsuchasmoralrealismandscientik