IDEALISM
What is idealism?
Idealism is an ontology (theory of reality) that claims what actually exists consists of the concepts we use to understand our experiences. According to the idealist perspective, reality is more than our behavioural patterns or the materials conditions of our existence - our sense of reality is something we achieve through active use of our minds, not something we simply infer from the facts or acquire through cultural conditioning. The place where idealism is most applicable is in the sphere of human relations. Money is not a natural phenomena, nor is the idea of money a reflection of natural phenomena - the idea for this institution was developed by people to serve certain purposes. In a similar way, all other institutions were contrived: the idea of contracts was invented, as was that of writing, government, trade, science, marriage, justice, etc. These things are "made-up" by defining them (what they are, how they will work) and declaring them (committing to such practices, promoting compliance). All human folkways and mores are built in this way.
The major problem with the idealist ontology is the attitude of "reification" which often arises to accompany the ideals in use. Reification is what philosopher Alfred North Whitehead called "the fallacy of concretization", the assumption that the ideals in current use are "real" in a material or supernatural sense. However, social institutions are NOT things or forms (like tools or templates), and scientific principles are NOT facts or myths (like data or parables). Rather, social institutions are guidelines, and compliance is negotiable, so gradual changes are occurring all the time, and compulsive commitment is not a necessary implication of idealism, but rather an indication of a "fundamentalist" temperament.
How does idealism work?
One of the most enlightening lessons in idealism is to "deconstruct" the social institutions in everyday use, and see the large role that convention and constraint play in human behaviour. Most of our ends (goals) and means (methods) are based on traditions and habits, NOT natural or necessary processes. For instance, we do have to eat, but - what we eat, what we don't eat, how we eat, etc. are part of our folkways and mores, not physical laws. Other societies, in other times and places have had somewhat different traditions and habits, sometimes radically so. Hence, we could change our traditions and habits for the better without that necessarily subverting our societies. If that were to become desirable, we might look for guidelines to other examples of social change, and to the experience with different traditions and habits - life lessons on which social ideals are worthwhile, and how to implement them, are wherever you find them.
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