idéalisme

Forms

idéalisme m (plural idéalismes)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French idéal + -isme.^[2][3][4] Bloch and Wartburg list it among the derivatives of the base, which is from Late Latin ideālis, taken in 1578 to serve as an adjective for some senses of idée.^[5] Littré derives it instead from the verb idéaliser.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Diderot used it in 1749, in the Lettre sur les aveugles, for a philosophical doctrine that reduces existence to thought.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The word first belonged to philosophy, for any system that brings being back to thought and things back to the mind;^[7][4] idéalisme transcendantal was said of Kant's philosophy from 1801.^[7][4] In 1828 Villemain applied it to literature and the arts, for a view that makes the portrayal of an idealized nature the aim of art, in contrast with realism and naturalism.^[2][7]

In common use, from Renan (1863), it named an attitude that subordinates thought and conduct to an ideal.^[2][7] A pejorative use followed in Romain Rolland (1904), for a tendency to neglect reality and live on illusions.^[7][8]

Timeline

• 1749 – Diderot uses it in the Lettre sur les aveugles as a philosophical term.^[2][3]
• 1801 – Kant's philosophy is called idéalisme transcendantal.^[7]
• 1803 – Boiste records the philosophical sense in his dictionary.^[9][8]
• 1828 – Villemain uses it in literary and art criticism.^[2][7]
• 1863 – Renan uses it for an attitude guided by an ideal.^[2][7]
• 1904 – Romain Rolland uses it pejoratively.^[7][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (philosophy) Any doctrine that reduces being to thought and things to the mind, as opposed to réalisme and matérialisme: idéalisme platonicien, idéalisme transcendantal.^[4][2]
2. An attitude or character that gives a large place to an idéal and to feeling in the hope of improving people.^[4][2]
3. (pejorative) A tendency to neglect reality and believe in chimeras.^[4][7]
4. (art, literature) A conception that makes the representation of an idealized nature the aim of art, as opposed to realism and naturalisme.^[4][7]

Related words

• idéal
• idéaliste
• idéaliser
• idée

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF