Idealist

Idealist

In philosophy, idealism is the group of philosophies which assert that reality, or reality as we can know it, is fundamentally mental, mentally constructed, or otherwise immaterial. Epistemologically, idealism manifests as a skepticism about the possibility of knowing any mind-independent thing. In a sociological sense, idealism emphasizes how human ideas — especially beliefs and values — shape society. As an ontological doctrine, idealism goes further, asserting that all entities are composed of mind or spirit. Idealism thus rejects physicalist and dualist theories that fail to ascribe priority to the mind. An extreme version of this idealism can exist in the philosophical notion of solipsism.

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Famous quotes containing the word idealist:

    Every materialist will be an idealist; but an idealist can never go backward to be a materialist.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    An idealist is a person who helps other people to be prosperous.
    Henry Ford (1863–1947)

    An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.
    —H.L. (Henry Lewis)