IDEALISM

A philosophical position which views the ‘real world’, as created by the human mind. The existence of objects and a reality outside of a personal consciousness is questioned and considered inherently untrustworthy. Reality is seen as contingent on a mind and thought processes for its existence; there is no such thing as a detached observer. The term should be associated primarily with ‘ideas’, rather than with ‘ideals’. The primary contrast in the philosophy of science is with realism. Immanuel Kant proposed although it is impossible to experience the external world (sensory experience is not the world itself), it is nevertheless possible to know, through reason, that such a world exists (transcendental idealism).

[See alsoknowledge, objective knowledge, social construction, truth]