By Januarius Asongu

Quantum mechanics is the most empirically successful theory in modern science, yet its conceptual and ontological foundations remain deeply contested. Persistent disagreements over the status of the quantum state, the nature of measurement, and the role of the observer bifurcate the field into realist, instrumentalist, and constructivist camps. This article proposes Critical Synthetic Realism (CSR) as a coherent philosophical framework for resolving these foundational tensions. CSR integrates a stratified metaphysics of Conditional Reality—where quantum phenomena are understood as real but manifest only under specific theoretical, experimental, and contextual conditions—with an expanded epistemology of Critical Fallibilism, which acknowledges the profound underdetermination of ontological interpretation by empirical data. Rejecting both the naïve realist treatment of theory as a direct mirror of nature and the anti-realist reduction of theory to a mere predictive instrument, CSR articulates a via media: it affirms an objective reality accessible to science while taking full account of the epistemic limits imposed by theory-dependence, contextuality, and observer involvement. The paper situates CSR within contemporary quantum foundations, compares it to dominant interpretations, and explores its implications for the measurement problem, theory choice, and emerging quantum technologies. By offering a fallibilist yet robustly realist account of quantum knowledge, CSR aims to stabilize foundational discourse without foreclosing future theoretical development.