What is an imaginative idealist?

-May 9, 2016

What is an imaginative idealist compared to regular passionate idealists and activists. What all idealists share is a certain disconnect with the world. We all love theories of how the world could and maybe should work even though in practice the universe works in less ideal ways. Imaginative idealists embrace this disconnect and uncertainty. We cherish the beauty of theoretical models while being aware of the realm it can be applied to. We also do not deny that there are equally beautiful other set of ideals. In contrast, most idealists are passionate about their one set of ideals. They place their ideals above all others and try to impose those ideals onto others, if needed violently, entering the realm of activists.

We need passionate idealists to enforce some changes in society to change a bad status quo and their passion is often admirable. However, putting two passionate idealists together in a discussion will not change any minds even though it often reveals the blindfolds that both sides have to the constraints of their own ideals.

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The term imaginative idealist deserves some explanation. What does it mean and how does it compare to any other old sort of idealism?

The definition of idealism

The term idealism can be defined as the unrealistic belief in and pursuit of perfection, while in the philosophical sense it is about the systems of thought that argues that all knowledge can be mentally constructed. Sociologically, however, describes idealism as being about how human values and ideas shape society.

In practice, we attribute someone to being an idealist if he wants to change society based on a certain value and is willing to put a lot of effort in that. While the pursuit seems as described above unrealistic, this is not how an idealist sees it. I call this common type of idealism, activistic idealism. I will call such people activists to be short and clear. Let’s explore that further.

The activistic idealist

Purpose

Activists have a single value connected to an ideal. Sometimes it is a set of similar values which is considered together. It prioritizes this value over other values and is discriminatory by nature. For instance, a vegetarian values the lives of animals. Often they value the needs of animals above the needs of humans. Whether or not the vegetarian is right, given a dilemma he might take side for the animals at the expense of human lives.

Polarisation

By prioritising values, or by putting one value above all others, the activist polarizes the discussion and society. You are either with us or against us in our struggle, they might say. You can’t be a semi-vegetarian, or have some socialist views.

Revolution

While some might think the ideal of the activist are unrealistic, he will fight for those ideals. An activist has clear goals in mind and an agenda to reach those goals at the cost of at its worst human lives. In the revolution that is needed to reach the ideal there will be values lost, such as honesty and justice. He values reaching the ideal goals above other moral values. The islamic state is not going to grow on its own, it seems.

Proof by rationalization

The ideal of a proper activist does not merely form out of thin air. There is usually a pretty good rational backstory. In fact, herein lies a big danger. By carefully constructing a good case based on rational arguments the ideal of the activists can become really compelling to less activistic idealists. But creating a congruent set of arguments may proof a point it does not make it right or worth fighting for. Political debates are quite useless. Even if, the candidate with the strongest arguments wins, it does not mean he is right. Consider this, argumentation is constructed to proof a point and therefore it usually does not consider those parts that are not favourable to proof that point. The rational story is almost always incomplete. To make matters worse, most arguments contain logical fallacies, which are arguments that may sound pretty darn good but are in fact illogical, or let’s just say flawed. Some are obvious: you are wrong because you’re a chickenshit (ad hominem), others seem compelling: if we allow one immigrant in, soon there will be thousands coming in (slippery slope). Finally, rational arguments leave out feelings. While activists often appeal to fear as feeling to back their arguments, feelings of love and compassion are often not part of the activists toolbox.

So what about imaginative idealists?

Purpose

Imaginative idealists do not have a single ideal or a single value that he places above the rest. The idealism is based on a sense of justice for all, harmony, love and compassion and setting all values as equal until compelled to otherwise.

Depolarisation

The imaginative idealists realises that there is not a single set of goals that will achieve an acceptable form of the ideal. And we can only find those set of goals or methods by comparing all other views for their merit and checking where and when those other views are applicable.

Radical inclusion

To the imaginative idealist a revolution is not the first choice. We would prefer a gently evolution towards the ideal. Having said that, as described in another blog post, sometimes you cannot achieve something better by changing slowly. Instead of revolution, we propose radical inclusion as a solution. Evolution will be catalysed by radical inclusion of a new ideal and solution and it will disrupt the lives of people, but only the lives that choose it. Other people’s lives will eventually evolve towards the ideal, following the people that embraced the radical inclusion.

Balancing the arguments

Imaginative idealists value rational arguments but also realise that many people will not be persuaded by them no matter how compelling. In a single person the strategies of thinking and feeling, intuition and sensing are out of balance and that makes it interesting to interact with people. Some people will decide on ratio only, while others rely on their feelings, and there is of course a large grey area.

While individuals may be out of balance, we can demand of our society to balance ratio, emotions, intuition and senses. In practice it already does to some extend, depending on the society you live in. The imaginative idealists’ ideal would be to bring a more harmonious balance in these 4 aspects.

Using rational arguments remains part of the toolbox but the arguments should be open, transparant, honest and therefore susceptible to change. It should also explicitly include irrational arguments as input.

We do not want to compel people to change their ways, we do not want to persuade them using perhaps false arguments. We will nudge them so that they make their own choice towards what they believe is right and what is in line to our ideal.

Meek and lame?

Putting it like that, imaginative idealists sound like weak tree-hugging dreamers that will not amount to anything. And yes, that may be the net effect of dormant imaginative idealists. However, do not underestimate the aversion we have towards activists and nihilist (people that just don’t care) which can be quite outspoken. And also do not underestimate the changes we bring about by nudging people unknowingly towards our ideal.