Human Development
Idealism
Description:
As opposed to materialism (which considers matter to be eternal and mind simply a highly ordered form of matter), and naturalism (which regards the human mind as a by-product of the operation of natural laws), idealism considers matter to be a creation or an illusion; and mind, spirit or God to be ultimate reality. For example, Berkeley would say that material objects exist only in that they are experienced as collections of ideas; the consistency with which they are experienced is because all exist as ideas in the mind of God (empiricism). Leibnitz came to the same conclusion of [immaterialism] but through argument, denying the validity of experience (rationalism). The [absolute idealism] of Hegel is not immaterialist but states that all philosophy is idealist; that the finite presupposes the infinite within which the finite is dependent; and that human knowledge progresses away from sense experience towards philosophical completeness.Related:
NaturalismMaterialism