ABSTRACT
In the more constructive part of the analysis the central emphasis so far has been on establishing that reality cannot be so reduced to the actual course of events and states of affairs. That is, reality is not only open but also stratified, the real (including the necessary and the possible) is irreducible to the domain of the actual (instances of the possible, the actual course of events) which in turn is irreducible to the empirical or conceptual. This ontological stratification has been found to be a very precondition of ex posteriori natural scientific successes, and to provide the basis for a science of society in the sense of natural science. It might also be added that it is clearly a condition not merely of science but also of the arts, sport, and such day to day activities as cooking, shopping and having a conversation.
