Official Syllabus Focus
- Idealism: Plato, Berkeley
- Representative realism: Locke
- Historical and dialectical materialism: Marx
Introduction and Scope
What this topic covers: Ontology studies what exists and the basic structure of reality.
What this topic covers: Plato’s idealism gives primacy to Forms; Berkeley argues that sensible objects are ideas perceived by minds; Locke’s representative realism holds that ideas represent external objects; Marx’s materialism explains social/historical development through material conditions and social relations.
What ontology asks
Ontology asks what kinds of things exist and what their most basic mode of being is. Are minds and physical objects fundamentally different? Are universals real? Is reality ultimately material, mental, or structured in some other way? These questions shape theories of knowledge, mind and ethics.
An ontological claim should be distinguished from an epistemological claim. Saying “only material things exist” concerns being; saying “we know through sensation” concerns knowledge.
Plato, Berkeley and idealism
Plato’s theory of Forms treats intelligible Forms as fundamental objects of knowledge and explanatory standards for changing sensible things. Berkeley’s immaterialism is very different: he argues against material substance and maintains that sensible objects consist in ideas perceived by minds, within a theistic metaphysics.
They therefore should not be grouped under “idealism” without explanation. Plato’s Forms and Berkeley’s perceived ideas solve different philosophical problems.
Locke and representative realism
Locke holds that our immediate mental contents are ideas while an external world exists independently of our perception. Qualities such as size and motion are treated differently from colour, taste and similar sensible qualities in his primary/secondary-quality distinction.
The central challenge for representative realism is epistemic: if we know external objects through ideas, how can we justify claims about the objects causing those ideas?
Marx: historical and dialectical materialism
Marx’s materialist conception of history explains social development through material production, social relations and conflict rather than treating ideas alone as the motor of history. Productive forces and relations of production shape a mode of production, which structures class relations and institutions while also being transformed through struggle and contradiction.
Under capitalism, Marx analyses wage labour, commodity production, exploitation and alienation. Historical materialism is not a claim that every event has one economic cause; it is a framework for understanding how material social relations condition historical possibilities and conflict.
Core Concepts Explained
- Ontology asks what kinds of things ultimately exist and what the basic structure of reality is. The syllabus contrasts very different positions rather than one simple realism-versus-idealism debate.
- Plato gives ontological priority to Forms as intelligible realities that ground knowledge and the character of sensible things. Berkeley argues that sensible objects are ideas perceived by minds and rejects material substance as ordinarily conceived.
- Locke's representative realism accepts an external world while holding that the mind directly knows ideas that represent external objects and their qualities.
- Marx shifts attention toward material social relations, production and class structure in explaining historical development. Historical and dialectical materialism should be connected to changing social conditions rather than merely the word “matter.”
| Common confusion to avoid: Do not treat Plato and Berkeley as if they defend the same idealism. Their arguments, objects of analysis and metaphysical systems are very different. |
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Preparation and Answer Use
- Do not treat all “idealism” as one doctrine.
- Use perception as the key comparison between Berkeley and Locke.
- For Marx, connect material conditions, class relations and historical change.
Key Takeaways
Key takeaway: Ontology asks what reality consists of.
Key takeaway: Berkeley challenges mind-independent material substance in his idealist framework.
Key takeaway: Locke maintains an external world represented through ideas.
Key takeaway: Marx places material social relations at the center of historical explanation.