Natalie Feng

“Idealism,” in its original sense, should actually be understood as “formalism.” (Incidentally, the term materialism—which is often used as the opposite of idealism—should more accurately be translated as hylomorphism or material formalism).

In ancient Greek philosophy, form (or idea) signified the true essence of a thing—something that exists eternally, without birth or decay. Greek philosophers believed that everything in the material world is transient, subject to constant change, and thus not eternal.

Take beauty, for example. All beautiful things in the physical world will eventually lose their beauty. A stunningly beautiful woman will one day wither into bones. Even the most vibrant flower will inevitably wither. However, the essence of beauty itself—the very concept of beauty—remains eternal and unchanging. This beauty itself is what the Greeks called the idea of beauty or the form of beauty.

Thus, the earliest form of idealism simply posited that beyond our ever-changing, fleeting physical world, there exists an eternal, immutable world composed of pure forms or ideas. This original notion of idealism had nothing to do with mind, thought, or consciousness.

How Did Formalism Become the Modern Concept of Idealism?

To answer this question, we must start with Aristotle.

Aristotle, through his complex philosophical reasoning, eventually concluded that the ultimate form, essence, or substance of the world is “nous” (νοῦς). In Greek, nous translates to “mind” or “intellect.” However, when Aristotle spoke of nous as the ultimate essence of the world, he was not referring to the human mind, but rather the mind of the universe itself—which, in his view, was God.

Thus, in Aristotle’s philosophy, the ultimate form (idea) and mind (nous) became one and the same. However, at this stage, the concept of form itself still did not inherently carry the meaning of mind.

Later, Christianity emerged and reshaped Greek philosophy through its own theological doctrines. The Christian theologians, led by Augustine, absorbed and reinterpreted Greek philosophy within the framework of Christian doctrine. They argued that God is the ultimate essence of all things, and that the world itself was merely God’s creation.

At this point, “form” officially merged with “idea,” becoming associated with “mind”—not just any mind, but the divine mind of God. Because God is eternal, universal, and absolute, the ideas generated by God’s mind were also seen as eternal, universal, and absolute.

The Transition to Modern Idealism

In modern times, as Christian influence waned and philosophical thought evolved, people began to apply the concept of “ideas” not just to God’s mind, but to human minds as well. They started using idea to refer to mental constructs produced by human cognition—what we now call “ideas” in the subjective sense.

At this stage, the Greek notion of “idea” fully transformed into the modern concept of individual, subjective thoughts, beliefs, and opinions. This is when formalism truly became what we now call “idealism”—specifically, “subjective idealism.”

This subjective idealism—the belief that reality is merely a product of individual perception—is what most people instinctively dismiss as obviously incorrect. However, the earlier form of idealism, which viewed ideas as products of God’s mind, is better classified as “objective idealism.”

The Difference Between Subjective and Objective Idealism

The key distinction between subjective idealism and objective idealism lies in the nature of “mind.”

• Subjective idealism holds that the “mind” in question is merely an individual’s subjective consciousness.
• Objective idealism, on the other hand, asserts that this “mind” is universal, eternal, and absolute—the mind of the world itself

Final Thoughts: The True Legacy of Idealism in Philosophy

To summarize:

• Idealism originally meant formalism, which had nothing to do with mind or consciousness.
• Over time, form (idea) became associated with mind, culminating in the fusion of form and divine intellect in Christian philosophy.
• Depending on how “mind” is understood, idealism splits into subjective idealism (personal consciousness) and objective idealism (universal consciousness).
• In everyday language, most people use “idealism” to refer only to subjective idealism, which does not accurately represent the true philosophical tradition of idealism.

In reality, the greatest philosophers in history were mostly idealists. Materialism has always been the weaker tradition in philosophical thought.

In fact, Hegel, the greatest proponent of objective idealism, once made a profound and somewhat ironic statement:

In other words, even materialism ultimately depends on conceptual thought—making it, paradoxically, a form of idealism.