5 differences between IDEALISM and MATERIALISM

In today's lesson we are going to talk about differences existing around great currents that have divided the philosophical world into opposite slopes: the idealism and materialism. In this sense, the first, defends that the idea (metaphysics) are more important and prevail over matter and, the second, on the contrary, establishes that the principle of everything is the matter (science), being more important than the idea.

This contrast between the two trends has its roots in Ancient Greece and practically extends to the present day. If you want to know more about differences between idealism and materialism, one of the great debates in the history of philosophy, keep reading because in this lesson from a PROFESSOR we explain everything to you.

Index

1. What is idealism and its main representatives
2. What is materialism and its representatives
3. What are the differences between idealism and materialism

The term idealism It is made up of two words that have their origin in ancient Greek: ideal What does idea mean? ism which means doctrine or school, that is, the doctrine of ideas.

Likewise, his birth must be located in Ancient Greece and in the person of Plato (427-347 a. C.). Philosopher who, with his theory of ideas, laid the first stone of a trend that throughout history has been branching out (subjective idealism, objective idealism or transcendental idealism) and that has had representatives so important, like: Rene Descartes (1596-1650), Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716), Immanuel Kant (1729-1804) or Friedrich Hegel (1770-1931).

In this way, in philosophy, idealism is defined as that current that affirms that ideas are more important that the rest of the things, that the reality is a construct of the mind and that the things exist if there is a mind that can think them.

The term materialism is composed of two words that have their origin in ancient Greek and that mean the doctrine of matter.

Likewise, its birth must be located in Ancient Greece with philosophers such as Thales of Miletus(624-547 a. C.), Anaximander (610-546 a. C.), Democritus (460-370 a. C.) or Aristotle (384-322). Highlighting the latter with his theory of the dual universe, according to which, everything is composed of matter, essence and substance.

Later, materialism branched out (historical materialism or dialectical materialism) and has had great representatives, such as: Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Thomas Hobbes (1580-1679), Friederich Engels (1818-1883) or Karl Marx (1820-1895).

Thus, materialism stands as the philosophical current that defends that matter is the origin of everything, that is to say, that things and reality exist because they have matter and, therefore, they prevail without the need to be created or perceived.

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Traditionally, idealism and materialism have been two currents that have collided and that are directly opposite in the world of philosophy. In this way, Main differences between idealism and materialism are:

The importance of the idea and in matter

• Idealism establishes that the idea prevails over the rest of things and that it is the principle of being and knowledge, that is, that things exist because we think them (They are a collection of ideas). Objects / things cannot exist without a mind that previously thinks them and is aware of it. That is, the intellect is required to develop an idea of ​​things and, therefore, the matter is secondary and is subject to the idea.
• For its part, materialism defends the opposite, matter is the beginning of everything. Objects and things are made up of matter and exist without the need to be perceived, likewise, he affirms that without matter nothing exists and that this is what the idea of ​​something creates, therefore, the idea submits to matter. In this sense, materialism tells us of the existence of two types of realities: the subjective and objective. The first is the reality in which our thinking resides and the second is the world that surrounds us (matter), the first being subordinate to the second. Therefore, existence lies in what is perceivable or knowable (The matter).

The intangible and the tangible

• Idealism defends the intangibility of things (the ideas, the spirit, the conscience), that is to say, what we cannot see, touch or feel (metaphysics).
• While materialism defends the tangibility of things or a matter that we can see and touch. That which can be known and can exist outside of consciousness or idea.

Religion and science

• According to idealism the ideas o spirit create realityTherefore, the origin of everything lies in a being or intangible entity. Hence, religion and idealism go hand in hand and can coexist without problem, since divinity is the intangible entity that inhabits the metaphysical world.
• Faced with this thesis, materialism rejects the idea of ​​the metaphysical world and the intangible, that is, it directly collides with religion because it is something that is not material. In this way, materialism relies more on the scientific / rational thinking and it focuses on studying what a subject has and that can be tested or known.

The creation of thought

We finish this review of the differences between idealism and materialism to talk about what they conceive about the creation of thought.

• For idealism, the idea is the basis of all knowledge, which leads us to understand reality and generate a thought, that is, we have a spirit that leads us to decide or think.
• For its part, materialism affirms that an individual thinks because he has a matter (brain) that generates an idea or a thought.

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Antiseri and Reale. History of Philosophy. Vol. 1 and 2. Ed. Herder. 2010