Idealism in the philosophical sense should not be confused with moral idealism, which is the colloquial usage of the word. Idealism in philosophy is understood as viewing the world, and thus all of existence, as being based on “spirit” (otherwise known as “thought” or “ideas”) rather than matter.
Idealist philosophy is the most commonly taught philosophical branch in both public schools and universities alike. When the common person thinks of philosophy, they will often imagine idealist philosophy because that is the dominant school of thought promoted in academia and popular culture.
Materialism contrasts this view by saying that the world is based on matter and that ideas are simply a product of matter.
Idealists believe that:
- spirit creates matter (god created matter)
- the world does not exist outside our thoughts
- it is our ideas which create things, that is, things are the reflections of our thoughts
Religion is thus the logical conclusion of Idealism. Ultimately, all Idealist philosophies, in one way or another, simply restate arguments of Bishop Berkeley, who is considered the Father of Idealism.
George Berkeley, better known as Bishop Berkeley, was an Irish philosopher is best known for proposing the theory of immaterialism, which denies the existence of matter altogether. He argues that physical objects only exist as ideas in our minds– that is, our senses which can touch or see these objects– and that it is only because of our perception of these objects that they exist.
This theory of immaterialism is often repeated again and again by other Idealist philosophers in one way or another, even amongst “agnostic” philosophers, such as who try to find a middle ground in between Idealism and Materialism.