idealizm

Idealism, called idealizm in Polish, is a family of philosophical theories that hold reality is fundamentally mental, conscious, or otherwise dependent on the mind. In its broad sense, it often contrasts with materialism or physicalism, which locate the basis of reality in matter or physical processes. The term covers a range of positions about the nature of objects, knowledge, and existence.

Subjective idealism, associated with George Berkeley, argues that objects exist only as perceptions and that sensible objects depend on mind to persist. In this view, to be is to be perceived, or to be perceived by a suitable mind.

Transcendental or Kantian idealism denies that we can know things as they are in themselves, separate from our faculties of perception. Immanuel Kant contends that space, time, and causal structure are forms of human sensibility, shaping experience; the external world as it appears is knowable, but the things-in-themselves lie beyond possible experience.

Absolute or objective idealism, most famously developed by G. W. F. Hegel, posits that reality is the expression or development of an all-encompassing mind or Spirit. History and nature, in this view, unfold as manifestations of the Self’s rational process.

Other traditions include various forms of post-Kantian or phenomenological idealism, and, in Indian philosophy, Advaita Vedanta is often described as an idealist position wherein ultimate reality is nondual and the material world is seen as appearance. In contemporary philosophy, idealism continues to influence debates on perception, consciousness, and the nature of reality, often alongside or opposed to forms of realism.