Comparing and Contrasting Objective Idealism, Buddhism, and Mechanistic Materialism
**This was written for a class assignment**
Out of all the things people tend to question — authority, questionable reports, etc., reality itself isn’t usually one of them. Reality, when questioned, opens up a metaphysical Pandora’s box of thoughts and questions. Most of these questions are uncomfortable. Are we living in a simulation, at the mercy of an invisible hand? Does anything matter if nothing is as it seems? How are any of us sure that we see things as they truly are? Many differing scientific and religious ideas attempt to answer these questions, and some are in direct conflict with each other. Out of them all, objective idealism and Buddhism, in my opinion, combine to not only answer the question of reality but also allow for positive human traits to have a place and purpose.
Some differing ideas suggest that either everything we perceive is a figment of our minds, or that everything exists in a single definite form. As a sort of middle ground, objective idealism specifically allows for a base reality and for different perceptions of things. Plato’s concept of Forms, well, form a base reality of absoluteness and reason. Forms are not physical, but are the essence of things. However, the key point is that all of us perceivers see the world differently. Expanding on this can explain not just how something visually, like the viral black/blue/white/gold dress, can be perceived differently, but also how opinions can even exist. After all, an opinion is a promotion of a specific perspective or way of seeing things. With these two concepts, objective idealism answers the question of “what is real?”: a base reality that can be uncovered through reason, one that is different from our perceived reality.
Those not entirely satisfied with the answers objective idealism gives can look at mechanistic materialism as an alternative, albeit a poor one. Mechanistic materialism specifically believes that the universe is a machine of sorts, with physics hypothetically being able to explain every one of nature’s past, present, and future actions. Human thoughts can allegedly also be explained in mechanistic materialism. It also describes everything you see as real and definite. Finally, in this idea, there is no real reason to believe in a God or cosmic purpose, or even have any sort of morality. You are just another organic being who will someday die, and will hopefully reproduce along the way.
This idea doesn’t satisfy me for several reasons. Firstly, the simplistic idea of reality fails to explain why people see things differently. Forget about simply seeing things visually differently — how can opinions even exist if the world is definite, and everyone should be able to clearly see the truth? How can we explain some people’s alleged sightings of ghosts, UFOs, or other unprovable phenomena? How would hallucinations be explained? Mechanistic materialism does not give answers to these questions.
The second unsatisfactory tidbit is the concept of morality, a purpose, or a God being essentially pointless. Religions most often bring their own set of morals, making discussion of the two go hand in hand. In a universe like the one described in mechanistic materialism, morals are not necessary. So why do humans keep organizing themselves under moral systems? Surely, in a materialistic universe, it should not matter. Is it the ease of control that religions allow on a populous, and the efficiency that comes as a result — like in the case of the caste system in India? Even in societies that explicitly had or have no religion, such as those of the Soviet Union and North Korea, leader worship occurs. Why have societies with no moral or religious systems not thrived if we live in a mechanically materialistic world? Though it proclaims that it can explain human thoughts using scientific principles, mechanistic materialism fails to answer this question. This isn’t to say religions are necessary for everyone to follow — but to simply write them off as having no purpose only brings up more questions than it answers.
Buddhism combines idealistic concepts, describes a cosmic purpose, and, though karma, promotes positive morals. The first mark of existence in Buddhism promotes opening your mind to see that the world your senses allow you to perceive is not permanent. Like objective idealism, Buddhism promotes the idea that the world we see is different from the worlds that others see. Buddhism’s wheel of existence provides a goal or cosmic purpose to life — to reach Nirvana. To reach Nirvana, one must live a life of good morals, to live according to the noble eightfold path. Karma is also a good reason to want to live a life of good morals — obtaining bad karma due to bad moral actions is detrimental to a person. These two concepts combined mean that unlike in materialist thought, there is a reason to want to live under a moral system. Reincarnation is a tool used to reward or punish people based on how well they are following the eightfold path.
Unlike Christianity, whose God, according to its holy book, has plans “for you… plans for good and not for disaster”, which has led to discussion over whether Christians truly have free will, Buddhism doesn’t have that issue. (Jeremiah 29:11) “Some Christians believe that God has predetermined our path and that we are jut [sic] tokens in his plan”, writes Kelli Mahoney of ThoughtCo. (Mahoney) Meanwhile, as Takashi Tsuji of BuddhaNet pointed out, “Karma should not be confused with fate. Fate is the notion that man’s life is preplanned for him by some external power, and he has no control over his destiny. Karma on the other hand, can be changed. Because man is a conscious being he can be aware of his karma and thus strive to change the course of events.” (Tsuji) And unlike Christianity’s view of eternal damnation, Buddhism allows for more free will as moral mistakes are made. As Tsuji points out, “man is characteristically placed at the midpoint of the ten stages; he can either lower himself abruptly or gradually into hell or through discipline, cultivation and the awakening of faith rise to the Enlightened state of the Buddha.” (Tsuji) In combination with reincarnation, Buddhism allows for mistakes to be made and to be learned from, unlike in Christianity.
In conclusion, objective idealism and Buddhism combined can allow for a base reality and for differing perspectives. They allow for moral systems to have a purpose. Combined, the ideas are in contrast to mechanistic materialism, which leaves questions unanswered, and parts of Christianity. Though there are many other perspectives that can be considered, objective idealism and Buddhism are consistent on key points that make the most sense in trying to answer the question of what is real.
Works Cited
Holy Bible, New International Version. Biblica, 2011.
Mahoney, Kelli. “What Does the Bible Say About Fate?” ThoughtCo, 29 Apr. 2014, www.thoughtco.com/the-bible-says-about-fate-712779. Accessed 1 Aug. 2017.
Tsuji, Takashi. “A Basic Buddhism Guide: On Reincarnation.” BuddhaNet, www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/reincarnation.htm.
