This discussion was interesting because it brought to attention things that I never realized had an impact on they way people think. To begin with idealism, it is said that those who are idealists are religious, and believe that the typical ideal belongs to God. In idealism, the point in life is to seek the ideal which is the justice and decency life has to offer. People themselves aren’t believed to be ideal, and are to be flawed copies of the ideal who strive to become whatever they believe that ideal is. The problem an idealist might face is the possibility that the ideal might not exist. A question that arises in this for someone who is an idealist is, “How do you know it’s ideal?” in which an idealist would respond along the lines of, “It moves you.” My opinion on idealism is this – how does being a realist mean you automatically associate with God? I am a religious person, but I do not believe that you have to believe in a higher power to be able to look at a sunset and believe that it symbolizes the peace that life has to offer.

On the other hand, realism is the belief that there is no ideal, and all that we see is all that is there. People will believe that there is no ideal shirt, or song meaning that each individual thing is itself, and does not contribute to a greater ideal. In the case of shirts, they think that every shirt is a re-representation of every other shirt. Realists are considered to be non-religious individuals and believe that they have no external authority for what is considered good. Idealists, like stated before, believe that something like sunsets are something God created. Realists would look at a sunset and think of it as the ending to a day with a new day coming soon. It is said that every person is either an idealist or realists, and no one is in between.