Idealism is a philosophical theory that holds that reality is essentially mental or spiritual. According to idealism, ideas or mind are the only true reality, while the material world is characterized by change and uncertainty. Idealists believe we should be primarily concerned with searching for eternal truths, as truth cannot be found in the imperfect material world. Some key aspects of idealism include that ideas alone are truly real, the mind is more important than the body, and concepts like chairs would still exist even if all physical chairs were destroyed. Prominent idealist philosophers include Plato, Descartes, Berkeley, and Hegel.

1. (Idea- ism):
Idealism is a term with several related meanings. It comes
directly from the Greek "idealismos" which derives from the
word (idea).
Man has two facets: spiritual and material . When the
emphasis is on realization of spiritual life, it is called
idealism.
Idealist does not have considerations for material values of
life.
To the idealist ‘Mind and Soul’ rather than the ‘Matter and
the Body’ are more important.

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 Idealist believe that ideas are the only true reality.
 The material world is characterized by change, instability, and
uncertainty;
 We should be concerned primarily with the search for truth. Since
truth is perfect and eternal, it cannot be found in the world of matter
that is both imperfect and constantly changing.
 Idealist have idolized the Mind beyond everything.
 Idealism is the philosophical theory that reality is essentially mental or
spiritual.
 We should be concerned primarily with the search for truth . Since
truth is perfect and eternal, it cannot be found in the world of matter
that is both imperfect and constantly changing. Idealism

3. Example
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.

4. Leaders of Idealism
1. Plato (427-347 BC)
2. St. Augustine (350-430)
3. Descartes (1596-1650)
4. Berkeley (1685-1753)
5. Kant (1724-1804)
6. J. G Fichte (1762-1814)
7. G.W.F Hegel(1770-1831)
8. T.H Green (1836-1882)
9. B. Bosanquet (1848-1923)

5. Idealist Philosophers
 In the West, Idealism dates as far back as
Pythagoras (600 BCE)
 Plato first formalized idealism through his
“Theory of the Forms”

6. Idealist Philosophers
Augustine (350-430)
 He argued that what is real is the spiritual world;
the flesh is only temporary
 People do not create knowledge; God has
already created it, but people can discover it through
trying to find God.

7. Descartes (1596-1650)
 Wrestled with the question of what was real and did
he really exist (perhaps he was a dream). He finally
concluded: “I think, therefore I am”
 Thinking and ideas are the ultimate truth.

8. George Berkeley
 Berkeley claimed that only the conscious minds and ideas/perceptions
are reality.
 The external world is a collection of perceptions we mistakenly call
physical reality.
 For Berkeley, all the things we perceive around us are nothing more
than bundles of our perceptions/
 Berkeley’s Idealism included two elements: objective and
subjective
 Subjective- all we know are our own ideas
 Objective- Independent of our perceptions;

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Berkeley argued that all objects are bundles of
perceptions
For example, a certain color, taste, smell, figure
and consistency go together, and are one
distinct thing, given by the name apple.
 Because perceptions can exist only in a mind,
all objects exist only in the mind, and there is no
independent material reality outside the mind

10. The idealist theory of the State
 The state has many aspects; sociological, political,
economic, historical legal, psychological, biological
and ethical . According to idealism its moral aspect
outweighs all the other aspects .
 The state is fundamentally and essentially the
supreme means to good life and only secondarily an
association for legal action ., or an agency for the
better production and the distribution of wealth .
 Thus political philosophy thus becomes an ethical
study

11. The main tenets of the idealist-
ethical theory of the state
1. It views man as a social or political animal in
the sense of the he can develop his
potentialities in and through member of the
state.
2. The idealists theory conceives the state as
fundamentally an ethical association.
3. There can be no opposition between the
individual and the state.
4. The idealist theory credits the state with a life,
personality and will of its own, distinct from and
transcending the lives, personalities and wills of
its citizen

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5. Law as the expression of passionless
reason and not merely as the command
of a human sovereign.
6. The general tendency of the idealist
theory is regard the state as a self-
sufficing entity, and thereby to identified
it with the whole of the society .
7. The state is based on will not on force.

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