Roy Bhaskar is the originator of the philosophy of critical realism, and the author of many acclaimed and influential works including A Realist Theory of Science, The Possibility of Naturalism, Scientific Realism and Human Emancipation, Dialectic: The Pulse of Freedom, Plato Etc., From Science to Emancipation and (with Mervyn Hartwig) The Formation of Critical Realism. He is an editor of Critical Realism: Essential Readings, Interdisciplinarity and Climate Change and Ecophilospophy in a World of Crisis, and was the founding chair of the Centre for Critical Realism. He is currently World Scholar at the University of London Institute of Education and Director of the newly founded International Centre for Critical Realism located there.

• New introduction by Mervyn Hartwig, 1. From a Philosophy of Science to a Philosophy of Universal Self-realisation, 2. Critical Realism and Marxism, 3. Critical Realism and Discourse Theory: Debate with Ernesto Laclau, 4. Critical Realism and Ethnomethodology: Debate with Rom Harre, 5. Critical Realism and Ethics: Introducing Transcendental Dialectical Critical Realism, 6. Critical Realism, Co-presence and Making a Difference, 7. Part I: Reality Check, Part II: Critical Realism and the Left, 8. Critical Realism, Postmodernism and the Global Crisis, 9. Left versus Right Brain, Creativity and Emancipation, 10. The Philosophy of metaReality: Identity, Spirituality, System, 11. Educating the Educators - Or, Empowering Teachers, 12. The Limits of Thought, 13. Unconditionality in Love.