Science exposes pre-existing natural kinds and causal mechanisms

Evidence

Minimal realism holds that there are objects independent of human cognition. Strong realism adds the thesis that, independently of us, these objects are assorted into natural kinds and that there are causal processes in which they participate. The task of science is to expose the causal structure of the world, by delineating the pre-existent natural kinds and uncovering the mechanisms that underlie causal dependencies. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts and Measurement, 140

Categorization

• DEFINE: Lays out the minimal/strong realism distinction and what the realist task of science commits one to.
• CANDY: The minimal-versus-strong realism split is a compact way to place anyone in a dinner conversation about whether categories exist in the world.