Idealism And Realism

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Idealism andrealism

• Maryam Wajid
• BS. Physics

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What is Idealism?
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Idealism

• Definition
• Idealism is the group of philosophies
  which assert that reality, or reality as we can
  know it, is fundamentally mental, mentally
  constructed, or otherwise immaterial.

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Idealism
Idealism

• It comes via idea from the Greek word (?de??),
  meaning "to see.
• The term entered the English language by 1743.
• Idealism is the philosophical theory which
  maintains that experience is ultimately based on
  mental activity.
• In literature, idealism refers to the thoughts or
  ideas of the writer.
• Man has two facets spiritual and material. When
  the emphasis is on realization of spiritual
  life, it is called idealism.
• To the idealist Mind and Soul rather than the
  Matter and the Body are more important.

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History
Idealism

• Idealism is the oldest system of philosophy known
  to man.
• Its origins go back to ancient India in the East,
  and to Plato in the West.

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Principles of Idealism
Idealism

• Principle of universe is mind.
• Man is spiritual being.
• Ideas and values are superior to materialistic
  world.
• Real knowledge in perceived in mind

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Idealism
Types of Idealists
Liberal
Pacifist
Humanitarian
Globalist

• A pacifist is someone that does not believe in
  violence
• A globalist is someone that prefers to think of
  one human race instead of many nations.
• A humanitarian is one that believes in communism
  
• A liberal is someone that believes that democracy
  and capitalism are the best ways to unite people
  around the world.

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Leaders of Idealism
Idealism

• Socrates (469-399 BC)
• Plato (427-347 BC)
• St. Augustine (350-4300
• Descartes (1596-1650)
• Berkeley (1685-1753)
• Kent (1724-1804)

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What is Realism?
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Definition
Realism

• Realism is the belief that some aspect of
  our reality is ontologically independent of our
  conceptual schemes, perceptions, linguistic
  practices, beliefs, etc.

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Realism
Realism

• Ideas must be subject to public verification.
• Must be proven through scientific
  experimentation.
• Science for the sake of science.
• Universal properties of objects remain constant
  and never change, whereas particular components
  do change.
• Need to study nature systematically.
• Deductive reasoning - truth is derived from
  generalizations.

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History
Realism

• The oldest use of the term "realism" appears in
  medieval scholastic interpretations and
  adaptations of Greek philosophy

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Principles of Realism
Realism

• Politics are governed by objective laws that have
  their roots in human roots.
• Interest is defined in terms of power
• Interest defined as power is an objective
  category which is universally valid, but whose
  meaning can change
• Universal moral principles cannot be applied to
  the actions of states in the abstract
• The moral laws that govern the universe are
  distinct for the morals of any one nation
• The difference between political realism and
  other schools is real and profound

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Realism
Realists

• A person who accepts the world as it
  literally is and deals with it accordingly.

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Leaders of Realism
Realism

• Aristotle (384-322 BC)
• Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
• Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
• John Locke (1632-1704)

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• Idealism and Realism and not antynom concepts of
  each other.
• The only difference is

Fact
Idea
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The Idealist and the Chair

• To an idealist, the concept of chair is
  important. You could destroy all the chairs in
  the world but they would still exist in the mind.
  The idea of a chair is the ultimate truth.

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The Realist and the Chair

• To a realist, the actuality of chair is
  important. A realist would measure the chair,
  weight it, examine the physical characteristics,
  etc. The fact that the chair exists is the
  ultimate truth.

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• Both idealism and realism, as philosophical
  terms, deal with the relationship between our
  minds and the world.
• Idealism is the view that things exist only as
  ideas, with no reality as material objects
  outside of the mind. Realism is the view that
  objects exist in themselves, independently of our
  consciousness of them.

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Conclusion

• No one can be a complete idealist and a complete
  realist

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Thank You