idealism
ideal·ism (ī dē′əl iz′əm)
noun
- behavior or thought based on a conception of things as they should be or as one would wish them to be; idealization
- a striving to achieve one's ideals
- imaginative treatment in art that seeks to show the artist's or author's conception of perfection; representation of imagined types, or ideals
- Philos. any of various theories which hold that:
- things exist only as ideas in the mind rather than as material objects independent of the mind
- things in the material world are actually manifestations of an independent realm of unchanging, immaterial models or forms
Etymology: Fr idéalisme or Ger idealismus
idealism
n.
Devotion to high principles
perfectionism, high-mindedness, aspiration, sense of duty, humanitarianism, meliorism, utopianism, romanticism, quixotism, knight-errantry, impracticality, idealization, principle, virtue, conscience, philosophy. The conception of the universe as idea
Platonism, metaphysical idealism, epistemological idealism, metaphysics, immaterialism, immateriality, subjective idealism, Hegelianism, Transcendentalism, Fichteism.
Converse of object
- reflect: His whole behavior reflected spiritual idealism, with sometimes the postures of a visionary, sometimes the frank outbursts of a child.
- call: The theory that reality is just an idea is called philosophical Idealism.
- have: Because I'd had the same ridiculous idealism when I was a musician, I found myself doing long-term residencies in health care.
- see: I see that idealism in the faces of this academy class.
Converse of subject
- drive: Kandinsky was driven by a fierce idealism and distinctly Slavic belief in the ' inner world ' of the soul.
Adjective modifier
- transcendental: That " point of view " is in fact two distinct species of transcendental idealism.
- Hegelian: It is worth briefly sketching out some salient features of Hegelian Idealism.
- person's: This process is enhanced by the person's ethical idealism.
- Utopian: The Republic has been seen as the classic text of Platonic Utopian idealism.
- youthful: Hain is a shining example of youthful idealism being replaced by cynical self interest in later life.
- utopian: Far from being a Pie in the Sky dream of utopian idealism the authors contend that such a revolutionary change is within our grasp.
Noun used with modifier
- person's: In effect, a person's idealism is channeled through the abreactive process.
- objective: Top of Page Philosophical Idealism comes in two forms: subjective Idealism and objective Idealism.
- rationalist: First there was a critical, rationalist idealism, often involving a return to Descartes, Kant, Hegel or Husserl.
- hippie: It marks the end of the sixties hippie idealism.
Possessives
- person: A secondary source of unpleasantness is generated eventually by the person's idealism.
Preposition: of
Whenever one comes to close grips with so-called idealism, as in war time, one is shocked by its rascality.
Practical efficiency is common, and lofty idealism is not uncommon; it is the combination that is necessary, and that combination is rare.
Idealism isthe noble toga that political gentlemen drape over their will to power.
