Materialism vs Idealism: What’s the Difference?

The difference at a glance

Materialism holds that physical matter is the fundamental substance of reality. Idealism maintains that reality is mentally constructed or rooted in non-physical ideas.

What does Materialism mean?

noun · /məˈtɪərɪəlɪzəm/

The theory or doctrine that physical matter is the only reality and that all being and processes are caused by material agencies; the tendency to consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values.

Materialism in a sentence

Her philosophical materialism and her cultural anti-materialism sat in uneasy coexistence.

Scientific materialism is not a moral position; cultural materialism often is.

What does Idealism mean?

noun · /aɪˈdɪə.lɪ.z(ə)m/

In philosophy, the view that reality is fundamentally mental or spiritual rather than physical. In everyday usage, the pursuit of high ideals, often in ways that underestimate practical obstacles.

Idealism in a sentence

Berkeley's idealism: to be is to be perceived — matter exists only insofar as it is experienced by a mind.

The idealism of youth gives way, in most people, to some form of pragmatism — not because ideals are wrong but because reality is complicated.

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