The origin of idealism by etymological evidence.
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2020 10:45 pm
The general incompetence in the English speaking world concerning philosophy makes much havoc, not to say simple degradation of the human intellect. Graham Harman is an exemplar of the lowest and most stupid tendencies in this regard and through his celebrity misleads millions. One might point out to the confused the efficacy of provisional evidence which at least is often very suggestive which can be got from evidence in words. For instance wiki gives in its entry on Idealism "First attested 1796, from ideal + -ism." suggesting the connection to Kant's most famous work, and thus to German Idealism. "(philosophy) An approach to philosophical inquiry, which asserts that direct and immediate knowledge can only be had of ideas or mental pictures."
One may be confused, and rightly, by another form of the word. Namely, "idealismus", which, indeed, even links back to Plato! However, the issues involved are wholly different. And in the connection to Plato, at the simplest and lowest level one can point out that this meaning still survives, in the political sphere. Political Idealism rather than political Realism. This situation is further clarified by pointing out that Plato was the first Political Philosopher and the origin of the Western tradition of the Law Maker's Art (which is simply another name for Political Philosophy which informs or offers guidance to the law maker, in America that would be the Congress or the Founders, as with Montesquieu guiding them, on how to make their laws).
There is a certain connection between the two words and usages through the fact that they are part of the same development of thinking over 30 generations or so, but that is much more difficult to lay out to the understanding rather than to dogmatic utterance.
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Many complications follow on such evidences. As, for example, that though the word "epistemology" is post-Kantian in nature, it was taken up, destroyed in its main meaning by the Anglo-American sphere, and made to be a generic for "theory of knowledge" and thus pasted back over the whole tradition thoughtlessly and destructively. Thus, the use of etymologies is not simple (many deeper difficulties lurk and are not touched on here), and can only be an aid when one is sufficiently aware of the subject matters involved in minute detail.
One may be confused, and rightly, by another form of the word. Namely, "idealismus", which, indeed, even links back to Plato! However, the issues involved are wholly different. And in the connection to Plato, at the simplest and lowest level one can point out that this meaning still survives, in the political sphere. Political Idealism rather than political Realism. This situation is further clarified by pointing out that Plato was the first Political Philosopher and the origin of the Western tradition of the Law Maker's Art (which is simply another name for Political Philosophy which informs or offers guidance to the law maker, in America that would be the Congress or the Founders, as with Montesquieu guiding them, on how to make their laws).
There is a certain connection between the two words and usages through the fact that they are part of the same development of thinking over 30 generations or so, but that is much more difficult to lay out to the understanding rather than to dogmatic utterance.
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Many complications follow on such evidences. As, for example, that though the word "epistemology" is post-Kantian in nature, it was taken up, destroyed in its main meaning by the Anglo-American sphere, and made to be a generic for "theory of knowledge" and thus pasted back over the whole tradition thoughtlessly and destructively. Thus, the use of etymologies is not simple (many deeper difficulties lurk and are not touched on here), and can only be an aid when one is sufficiently aware of the subject matters involved in minute detail.