Cladistics - the victory and defeat of realism

Realists (like cladists) tend to exaggerate the ability of science. They tend to believe (and claim) that science can find "The Truth", although the sole idea of a single truth itself has been dismissed by several philosophers of science. It is just as if realists can't accept facts, but instead consistently try to free themselves from the shackles of facts. It is just as if they consistently try to find the treasure at the foot of the rainbow although this treasure, of course, is not to be found.

Realists are thus obviously looking for something else than science can provide. Science can only test whether statements are true by testing them against competitive statements with reference to reality, nothing else. And, being true in this sense does not mean being "The Thuth", but merely being more true than the competitive statement. Science is just about modeling reality, nothing else. Science is a craft, like carpentry, forging, painting, or any other craft, building models of reality. It can't find truths beyond what we see, because it does not have any tools to penetrate beyond what we see.

Realists thus appear to have a romantic view on science - that it can penetrate reality from what we see to what can possibly lurk behind it - a view that in practice is commonly interpreted as what they personally think, or believe, it is. 

The problem for realists, as cladistics has shown, is thus that every theory on something that lurks behind what we see is contradictory, paradoxically contradictory, by being a belief (which also Ludwig Wittgenstein explained). The problem for realists is thus that their approach is contradictory, paradoxically contradictory. Their axiom that classes are real is simply contradictory, paradoxically contradictory. Cladistics has thus revealed that realism is contradictory, paradoxically contradictory. It ought to be the Waterloo for realism, but realism will probably survive in the same way as it has survived till this day, namely by changing focus from its defeat to something else. Realism is namely not a kind of science, but rather oppotunism. It is not consistent, but consistently inconsistent, and in cladistics it has found its ultimate consistent inconsistency.It has found the victory that is its defeat.

Left is nominalism with a touch of realism.

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