Understanding Idealism, Materialism, and Existentialism
Idealism Idealism as a doctrine is opposed to realism, considered as the determining consciousness and nature as non-essentials, as what he faces. They have conducted many classifications, but idealism can be divided into two groups: Objective Idealism, which considers the foundation of reality as spirit (personal/impersonal), a group that may include Eastern philosophies, Plato, Neoplatonism, and is strongly influenced by the mysticism of St. Augustine, the philosophy of the Middle Ages (subject to Christian theology). Thomas makes a very particular interpretation of Aristotelian and Hegelian idealism. Subjective Idealism is based on individualism against the theistic world, and Descartes began taking a turn towards subjectivity. This thought leads to the conception of reality as the content of consciousness. Materialism is a doctrine that states that matter is the constituent element of reality, from which spiritual elements derive. As a philosophical theory, materialism is opposed to idealism, which posits that matter is a product of mind or spirit, and spiritualism, which finds it impossible to reduce the spirit to matter. Characteristics of Dialectical Materialism are explicitly outlined by Engels and later Lenin and Stalin. Hegel’s investment (where the spirit says Hegel, Engels says matter) applies the dialectical method to nature, which is dynamic and contains within itself the ability to move, as a result of the struggle of conflicting elements. Matter will engender higher forms of reality. Dialectical materialism is opposed to mechanistic materialism, and evolutionary design also defends the natural world. The term Historical Materialism is one that Marx and Engels never used, preferring the terms “dialectical method” or “materialistic theory of history”. This scientific theory argues that history is the result of the way human beings organize economic production and social modes of production. Material relations (infrastructure) give rise to ideology and legal-political structures (superstructure). Marxism is Marx’s philosophical doctrine that, from an analysis of capitalism, criticizes the alienation of man as a result of economic exploitation. It states that history is the history of class struggle, and in reliance on the emergence of the proletariat (a new historical subject, the result of the Industrial Revolution), it develops a theory of communist revolution establishing a classless society and equitable distribution of economic assets. Some historians of philosophy use the term “Marxian Philosophy” to refer to the philosophy of Marx and distinguish the contributions of his followers or Marxist philosophy, given the influence that his doctrine reached after his death.
Positivism is among the philosophical doctrines that arose from the latter half of the nineteenth to early twentieth century, in reaction to Hegel and his absolute idealism. Comte’s positivism was based on belief in progress, believing that history is a process of improvement and development that will lead man to a stage where their needs will be solved rationally, prevailing a just moral order and peace. This process occurs when science permeates all areas of the humanities, in an evolution that includes three phases or stages: the prevailing theological imagination, which corresponds to the infancy of humanity; the essentially abstract Metaphysics; and the critical state of transition, leading to the real Positive stage, where imagination is subordinated to observation. The human mind sticks to things. Nihilism is a philosophical doctrine that denies the existence of eternal values and understands human existence and its representations as contingent. Nietzsche argues that every culture believes in the existence of an absolute reality, which sets the target values of Truth and Good. This culture of nihilism directs all its passion and hope towards something nonexistent (the Christian God, the Ideal World, Wise philosophers), thus neglecting the only existing reality: the reality of the world that offers the senses, the reality of life. Existentialism emerged primarily in Germany around 1930 and then spread to the rest of Europe. It is a significant response to the crisis (social, emotional, cultural) generated by the two world wars, which led existentialists to consider man as a being thrown into the world. This expression is to be taken literally, as Europeans were displaced from their homes due to the war, far from destruction and security in their beliefs, values, and ideals. Existentialism confronts us with a life that, in itself, has no value or meaning; it is man who gives it meaning through his actions. Therefore, we are responsible for our actions, as they commit us not only to ourselves but to humanity. The philosophical debates and proposed solutions address the problems of the human condition, such as the absurdity of life, the insignificance of being, war, time, freedom (both physical and metaphysical), and the God-man relationship, including atheism.