Idealism vs. Materialism

Idealismnoun

The property of a person of having high ideals that are usually unrealizable or at odds with practical life.

Idealismnoun

The practice or habit of giving or attributing ideal form or character to things; treatment of things in art or literature according to ideal standards or patterns;—opposed to realism.

Idealismnoun

(philosophy) An approach to philosophical enquiry, which asserts that direct and immediate knowledge can only be had of ideas or mental pictures.

Idealismnoun

The quality or state of being ideal.

Idealismnoun

Conception of the ideal; imagery.

Idealismnoun

The system or theory that denies the existence of material bodies, and teaches that we have no rational grounds to believe in the reality of anything but ideas and their relations.

Idealismnoun

The practice or habit of giving or attributing ideal form or character to things; treatment of things in art or literature according to ideal standards or patterns; - opposed to realism.

Idealismnoun

a belief in the feasibility of the implementation of ideal principles and noble goals, and the practice or habit of pursuing such goals; - opposed to realism and cynicism.

Idealismnoun

(philosophy) the philosophical theory that ideas are the only reality

Idealismnoun

impracticality by virtue of thinking of things in their ideal form rather than as they really are

Idealismnoun

elevated ideals or conduct; the quality of believing that ideals should be pursued

Idealismnoun

the unrealistic belief in or pursuit of perfection

Idealismnoun

(in art or literature) the representation of things in ideal or idealized form.

Idealismnoun

any of various systems of thought in which the objects of knowledge are held to be in some way dependent on the activity of mind.

Idealism

In philosophy, idealism is a diverse group of metaphysical views which all assert that is in some way indistinguishable or inseparable from human perception and/or understanding, that it is in some sense mentally constructed, or that it is otherwise closely connected to ideas. In contemporary scholarship, traditional idealist views are generally divided into two groups.

Materialismnoun

Constant concern over material possessions and wealth; a great or excessive regard for worldly concerns.

Materialismnoun

(philosophy) The philosophical belief that nothing exists beyond what is physical.

Materialismnoun

Material substances in the aggregate; matter.

Materialismnoun

The doctrine of materialists; materialistic views and tenets; called also philosophical materialism.

Materialismnoun

The tendency to give undue importance to material interests as contrasted with spiritual concerns; devotion to the material nature and its wants.

Materialismnoun

Material substances in the aggregate; matter.

Materialismnoun

a desire for wealth and material possessions with little interest in ethical or spiritual matters

Materialismnoun

(philosophy) the philosophical theory that matter is the only reality

Materialism

Materialism is a form of philosophical monism that holds that matter is the fundamental substance in nature, and that all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialism, mind and consciousness are by-products or epiphenomena of material processes (such as the biochemistry of the human brain and nervous system), without which they cannot exist.