The article describes the cases of using the objective and subjective idealism in modern Western philosophy. It deals separately with the use of the language of objective and subjective idealisms. The author arranges the cases of the application of idealism in modern philosophy and systematizes them. A critique of these applications is given. The conclusion is made about the future of idealism as one of the main philosophical trends in connection with its relevance for the present and the near future.
modern western philosophy, objective idealism, subjective idealism, consciousness, matter, postulate, extra-scientific types of knowledge, phenomenological reduction, the mind-body problem, the problem of the Other
In the first quarter of the 21st century in Western philosophy one might get the impression that the basic question of philosophy identified in F. Engels' work "Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of German Classical Philosophy" [1] has lost its relevance just as the division according to ideological sides (idealism vs. materialism) according to the answer to this question. However, is this really the case? Are materialism and idealism really no longer the mainstream of Western philosophy?
The purpose of the current article is to determine whether idealism is relevant in contemporary Western philosophy. If so, what is its relevance?
The relevance of the present article lies in several aspects: 1) the hitherto unresolved problem of consciousness (idealism as one option for its solution); and 2) a critique of the contemporary use of idealism as a clearing for further resolution of philosophical problems in the mainstream of materialism.
The novelty of this article consists in an attempt to define the meaning of idealism for modern Western philosophy.
As we know from the history of philosophy, idealism is commonly divided into two kinds: (a) objective idealism; (b) subjective idealism.
A) Idealism objective [2]. In modern philosophy it appears as a kind of postulate in relation to the problem of the nature of consciousness. It states that consciousness is primary in relation to matter and cannot be explained from itself. Thus, this solution simply cannot answer the question of what consciousness is. Objective idealism is often used, in this case, in religious philosophy (the philosophical branches of Judaism, Orthodoxy, etc.). In addition, objective idealism is used as a variant of justification for non-scientific views, for example, to prove the existence of the supernatural (e.g., God). This is the form in which it appears, in particular, in Neo-Thomism [3].
B) Idealism subjective [4]. Here it appears as a methodology of research, for example, in the phenomenological reduction proposed in E. Husserl's phenomenology [5], and developed further within this philosophical current. In addition to this, it can be presented as an entire research program, as happened when considering the body-spirit problem [6]. Moreover, subjective idealism can play the role of supplier of new problems. This is what happened, say, with the problem of the Other (7).
As can be seen from the above-mentioned applications of idealism in modern Western philosophy, it is applied quite widely. Thus, significant elements of objective idealism can be found, as examples, in personalism, neovitalism, and various theological movements in Christianity, while weighty parts of subjective idealism can be found in so-called realism, linguistic philosophy, and neopragmatism. This broad application of it is due to the fact that: 1) there is no scientific explanation of this or that phenomenon; 2) even if there is a scientific explanation, there is an equivalence of all types of knowledge in postmodern culture; 3) different features of human perception associated with mental characteristics and psychiatric diseases of a particular individual; 4) wrong choice of methodology to solve philosophical problems; 5) unfounded and inadequate research program; 6) due to incorrect choice of method and research program generation of false problems that do not exist with the correct approach, but are considered pseudo-problems; 7) delusions related to epistemological, psychological, ideological and other reasons; 8) confusion of language used by the philosophical "camp".
It is worth noting that idealism is not only an all-out lie and/or occasional fallacy, it helps materialism evolve as its other, as a philosophical doctrine that attempts to understand and change the world from a scientific perspective. Often, as Friedrich Engels famously pointed out, materialistic content has been incorporated into the idealistic form (for example, in the Middle Ages, in the era of scholasticism) [1]. Also in modern times this tendency continues to exist (A. Whitehead [8], etc.) This is the important and relevant thing that idealism can still give to the Western philosophical heritage, besides raising previously unknown really important philosophical problems and solutions to them, which could lead to true answers.
In criticizing idealism, we must first of all emphasize that it is unable (unlike materialism) to describe the world from itself; it needs various speculative concepts such as "eidos," "absolute spirit," "world reason," etc. Besides, often in idealistic philosophical constructions there is a so-called vicious circle in the proofs ("bad infinity"), when a concept does not go beyond itself, but returns to itself, closing on itself. Also, the idealist philosopher introduces superfluous categories, so that the system he has constructed looks logically true, but when checked by socio-historical practice as a criterion of truth, it does not stand up to criticism. In addition, because of such idealistic twists in both methodology and theory, "false" problems arise that simply do not exist in materialism (at least the problem of solipsism). In conclusion, the research programs of Idealism are generally doomed to understatement, to excessive overloading of essences, and to incomplete solutions because of all of the above.
If we reason unilaterally, the relevance of idealism at present as a modern philosophical trend is low and will remain so until it serves the tasks of materialism, promotes its categorical development in depth (for example, the development of new categories) and in breadth (detailed development of these categories) [9], then its relevance will be much higher than it is now. However, the relevance of idealism not only depends on its other, materialism, but also on itself. For example, in the present and in the future, it is determined by how soon and in what way the problems of consciousness, body-spirit will be revealed, whether idealism still brings to the surface new, truly authentic philosophical questions, whether it can overcome its shortcomings as much as possible (although its main points will remain unchanged, which will not allow it to remove its main theoretical weakness - its inability to explain something on the basis of this same something), which, in turn, allows us to declare a higher than low (average) level of relevance of idealism as one of the two main directions in the historical and philosophical conception of the history of philosophy within Marxism.
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