Worldview: Realism vs. Idealism

The philosophy that has dominated science for centuries assumes that only matter --- consisting of atoms or, ultimately, elementary particles --- is real; all else are secondary phenomena of matter.

The notion, however, that all things are made of atoms is an unproven assumption; it is not based on any direct evidence for all things.

Is there an alternative to the philosophy of material realism? Since Rene Descartes divided reality into two separate realms --- mind and matter --- many people have tried to rationalize the causal potency of conscious minds within Cartesian dualism.

So the question is, Is there a monistic alternative to material realism, where mind and matter are integrally part of one reality, but a reality that is not based on matter?

There is such an alternative. The alternative is monistic idealism. The philosophy is monistic as opposed to dualistic, and it is idealism because ideas and the consciousness of them are considered to be the basic elements of reality; matter is considered to be secondary.

In the idealist philosophy, consciousness is fundamental; thus our spiritual experiences are acknowledged and validated as meaningful. However, modern science's embracing of material realism changed all that; instead of being united with nature, consciousness became separate from nature, leading to a psychology separate from physics.

We are conditioned to believe that we are machines - that all our actions are determined by the stimuli we receive and by our prior conditioning.

This is why it has become so important for each of us to examine closely our worldview.

[from "The Self-Aware Universe", by Goswami]