The beginning of the XX-th century was marked by a far-famed philosophical discussion focused on the question of realism. The debate revealed the differences in the interpretation of a certain excerpt of Criteriology - the main work of cardinal Desire Mercier. The major contribution to the debates was that of Etienne Gilson, viewing the problem from the perspective of methodical realism, and Leon Noel, a disciple of cardinal Mercier, who took the standpoint of the immediate, critical realism. While Gilson claims that Mercier's approach is definitively an indirect realism, and consequently, a Cartesian type of illationism, Noel argues that Mercier is an immediate realist, and his conception is based not on illation but on immediatism. The critical analysis of Mercier's conception supports the opinion represented by Noel. The difficulties reported by Gilson can be solved by introducing the opposition between the classical notion of substance and Kantian “thing in itself” which can be found in Criteriology. Thus, the position taken by Mercier is definitely realistic and can be evaluated as an important voice in the dispute concerning not only contemporary varieties of idealism, but also different trends in realistic philosophy.
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