The 4 Differences Between Idealism And Materialism
Beginning in the times of Classical Greece, philosophers have been maintaining a historical debate about what is more important: the idea or the matter. Does the idea exist independently of the matter? Does matter create the idea? Does matter depend on a thinking mind to exist?
Idealism and materialism are two long-standing philosophical currents that have not yet reached an agreement on who is right, they have simply evolved into other hybrid or critical currents with the original postulates. Here we will see the main differences between materialism and idealism
Idealism and materialism are two extremely important currents in the history of philosophy, so much so that they have divided it. Idealism defends that the idea (metaphysics) is more important and prevails over matter, while materialism, on the contrary, maintains that the beginning of everything is matter (science), being more important than the idea. To understand what their main differences are, let’s first delve into what idealists and materialists believe.
What is idealism?
Idealism can be understood as “the doctrine of ideas.” We can place the emergence of this current in the times of Classical Greece. Plato (427-347 BC) is considered the first philosopher who began idealism with his theory of ideas, a current that would evolve throughout the history of philosophy in other branches, such as subjective idealism, idealism objective and transcendental idealism.
Idealism is defined as the philosophical current that affirms that ideas are more important than the rest of things, that reality is nothing more than a construct of the mind and that the world exists if there is a mind that can think about it. Ideas, concepts, words and numbers have independent existence according to the followers of this current
Some of the most important idealist philosophers are René Descartes (1596-1650), Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716), George Berkeley (1685-1753), Immanuel Kant (1729-1804) or Friedrich Hegel (1770-1931).
What is materialism?
Materialism can be understood as the doctrine of matter As with idealism, materialism emerged in Ancient Greece, with philosophers such as Thales of Miletus (624-547 BC), Anaximander (610-546 BC) or Democritus (460-370 BC) being followers of this current. You cannot talk about materialism without mentioning Aristotle (384-322 BC). with his theory of the dual universe, according to which everything is composed of matter, essence and substance.
Materialism is the philosophical current that defends that matter is the origin of everything, that all things and reality exist in themselves because they are matter Whether in the form of the four classical elements (earth, water, air and fire) as atoms, matter is the only reality in the world. Matter exists without the need to be created or perceived. Some materialists deny the existence of God and the soul, diametrically opposed to spiritualism and, naturally, idealism. Materialists deny free will and believe in determinism.
As the centuries passed, materialism branched, giving rise to historical materialism and dialectical materialism, among others. Throughout history there have been many materialist authors, including Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Thomas Hobbes (1580-1679), Paul-Henri d’Holbach (1723-1789)Friederich Engels (1818-1883) or Karl Marx (1820-1895).
The main differences between these two currents
Idealism and materialism are two antagonistic currents, directly opposite in the world of philosophy. Their main differences are the following.
1. Idea vs. subject
Idealism defends that the idea prevails over the rest of things and that it is the principle of being and knowledge. Idealists believe that things exist because we think about them, being in reality collections of ideas Thus, in idealism objects and other things are seen as elements that cannot exist without there being a mind that thinks them and is aware of it. Thinking minds are needed to develop ideas of things. Matter is seen as something secondary and dependent on the idea.
Materialism defends just the opposite. For materialists, matter is the beginning of everything Objects and other elements of the universe are made up of matter and exist without the need to be perceived by a thinking mind. If there is no matter, there is no existence. The idea about something is actually created from matter, so the idea depends on matter, not the other way around.
Materialism tells us about two types of realities: subjective and objective The subjective is the reality that resides in our thoughts, while the objective is the real world, the matter that surrounds us. Subjective reality is subject to objective reality, so existence lies in that which is perceptible or knowable.
2. Intangibility vs. tangibility
In idealism the intangibility of things is defended That is, it defends the existence of things that cannot be touched, seen or felt, such as ideas, the spirit or consciousness.
Instead, materialism defends the tangibility of things everything that can be seen, touched or recorded objectively as what is really real.
3. Religion and science
On issues of religion and science, idealism and materialism also deeply disagree. For idealism, ideas or spirit create reality, believing that the origin of everything lies in an intangible being or entity. It is for this reason that religion and idealism get along so well because, after all, the idea of God or divinities of the like refers to an intangible entity that inhabits a metaphysical world from where the world would be created. reality.
Instead, materialism rejects the idea of the metaphysical world, which makes it not agree with religions that defend the existence of an immaterial entity. Materialists rely on scientific and rational thinking, focusing on studying that which has matter and that can be proven or known tangibly and empirically.
You may be interested: “The 4 main types of science (and their fields of research)”
As the last main difference between idealism and materialism, we comment on how both currents conceive the creation of thought.
According to idealists, the idea is the basis of all knowledge, which leads us to understand reality and generate thoughts from it. Human beings have a spirit or thinking mind capable of making us decide or think about the world around us.
Contrary, Materialism affirms that people think because we have a material organ, the brain capable of generating ideas and thoughts.
