Realism and idealism are two rival theories or philosophies with the bone of contention being in the way life or human being perceive things or their surroundings. While idealism focuses on seeing things in an ideal or perfect condition, realism focuses seeing things in their actual conditions. In general, the focus of idealism is on ‘what could be’ while realism focuses on ‘what actually is.’ Despite this perceived divergent opinion on the two philosophies, I believe that the two are theories are in a way interrelated. They both talk about things which exist in reality though an ideal situation is so difficult to come by. While realist focuses on the actual happenings on the ground, the idealist focuses on the degree of perfection of whatever is actually happening. However, depending on which attitude or philosophy one adopts, idealism and realism make people perceive similar life situations from the extreme opposites. As a result, realists are often viewed as pragmatic and cautious people while the idealists are usually viewed as optimists and at times a disillusioned people. Incorporating ideas from two great philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, who promoted the two opposing viewpoints, this essay is going to assess and define what realism and idealism are, comparing and contrasting the two philosophies .
Idealism is a philosophy or a way of life which believes that our surrounding is a figment of our imaginations, our thoughts. This philosophy believes that the mind exists and that physical reality is simply a contraction of our minds. Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, stresses this ideology by explaining that knowledge which determines what an individual perceive as real or not is a product of imagination, a creation of the mind (Space and Motions.com, 2012). Reality is a product of a person’s imagination. Realism, on the other hand, refutes this claiming that reality is independent of a person’s thoughts or imagination. Realism theory explains that facts and real occurrences have absolute existence free from a person’s thoughts or even conscious.
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Within the political and institutional design realms, the two theories have brought a clash between what can be done ideally and what can be done realistically. There are politicians who have wanted to adopt Platonism or realism according to Plato which demands human beings and governments adhering to a superior or higher law. Platonism is the idealism which focuses on perfection, a higher natural law and the genuineness or truth in political theory, a doctrine which goes towards spiritual principles and lowers materialism. Plato’s idealism has brought up political idealism which believes that people are intrinsically good and that in large multitudes they are encouraged to reveal their intrinsic goodness (Wells, 2007). This ideology has gone ahead to influence the international or global relations policies of different countries which aim at making peace and not power as a major country goal. Today many democratic countries seem to have adapted to a greater sense Plato’s idealist theory in formulating their policies. Such countries believed in educating its people instilling high standards within their people something which will make their people liberal enhancing a long-term goal of peace.
Political realism upholds that power and not peace should be the true goal of a nation in its international relations. The international business perspective of different countries across the world has based their negations on this ideology of power being their ultimate goal and not peace. This philosophy as explained by Aristotle and Cicero exemplifies the need of country’s position in the negotiations to be practical and feasible (Guenther, 2010). Also, instead of wishful thinking and hoping for peace as a platform for interaction, political idealism calls for countries to look into actual things which can be useful to a nation. These philosophers who favored realism are of the opinion that though there could a form of linkage between the two theories, a strict point of view against idealism should be taken. This is a political stance which the Republican presidential candidate, Mr. Donald Trump seems to favor, an all-powerful America which first considers what is important to it and ignoring any social or regional responsibility which does not have any tangible returns. However, even as realism has the potential to come up with practical institutions which will guarantee good international relationship and community administration, to a greater extent, the liberality of people, their understandings of situations should also be considered. While idealists are futurist, realists live in the present. While idealists believe in peace as a nation’s goal, realists believe in power. While idealist aims for perfection, realists aim for mediocrity. Regardless of the fundamental differences between the two philosophies, they are all related in the sense that they work within the same space. Realism will want to state things in their practical situation while idealism will want to achieve the best within the same situation. The idealist stance could be impractical but still bound within the region of reality, a possibility.
References
Guenther, D (2010) Political "Ideals" Versus Political "Realities": A Dilemma of Theory. Retrieved from http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/260/political-ideals-versus-political-realities-a-dilemma-of-theory Space and Motions.com, (2012) Discussion of Metaphysics / Philosophy of Immanuel Kant Space and Motion (not Time) as Synthetic a priori Foundations for Physic. Retrieved from http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-Immanuel-Kant-Philosopher.htm
Wells, D (2007) Political Platonism in the English renaissance. Retrieved from https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/indexablecontent/uuid:b66133f3-f1cc-4c5d-8ff6-8a1bb162668f
