idealism
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idealism
An attitude in which one believes in high values and ideals and tries to realize them, often even against practical obstacles.
In seiner Jugend war er voller Idealismus und wollte die Welt verbessern.
In his youth, he was full of idealism and wanted to improve the world.
The ending '-ismus' (-ism) often marks a worldview, a doctrine, or an intellectual movement. 'Idealismus' (idealism) is therefore the system or attitude based on ideals.
Der Pazifismus ist eine Haltung, die Krieg und Gewalt ablehnt.
Pacifism is an attitude that rejects war and violence.
The word belongs to a family: 'Ideal' (ideal) is the perfect value or state, 'Idealist' (idealist) is the person who believes in it, and 'Idealismus' (idealism) is the attitude itself.
Ein echter Idealist gibt seine hohen Ziele nicht so schnell auf.
A true idealist does not give up his high goals so quickly.
When it is about a personal attitude, the word is often used in fixed expressions. Typical phrases are 'voller Idealismus sein' (to be full of idealism), 'aus reinem Idealismus handeln' (to act out of pure idealism), or 'seinen Idealismus verlieren' (to lose one's idealism).
Sie hat den Job aus reinem Idealismus angenommen, nicht wegen des Geldes.
She accepted the job out of pure idealism, not because of the money.
The philosophical meaning is often recognizable from the context. If thinkers like Kant, Fichte, or Hegel are mentioned, or if the term 'Deutscher Idealismus' (German Idealism) appears, the philosophical movement is meant.
Im Seminar diskutierten wir über die Vertreter des Deutschen Idealismus.
In the seminar, we discussed the representatives of German Idealism.
In its philosophical meaning, 'Idealismus' (idealism) is a technical term. You mainly find it in academic, historical, or philosophical texts.
Für die Prüfung muss ich die Grundzüge des philosophischen Idealismus lernen.
For the exam, I have to learn the basic features of philosophical idealism.
realism
'der Realismus' and 'der Idealismus' both describe a way of thinking about the world or about goals. In everyday language, 'Realismus' is more about looking at facts, limits, and what is actually feasible. 'Idealismus' emphasizes high values and goals, even when they are hard to achieve. That is why they are often opposites: Realismus asks, 'What is really possible?', while Idealismus is more likely to ask, 'What would be right or better?' They can be confused because both are also philosophical terms. In that case, they are not about practical plans, but about the question of what reality is and what role ideas or the external world play.
Julian arbeitet mit viel Idealismus in dem sozialen Projekt.
Julian works on the social project with a lot of idealism.
Bei der Planung hilft uns etwas Realismus, denn das Budget ist klein.
A bit of realism helps us with the planning, because the budget is small.