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1、IdealismvsRealismBehindthesetwoismsliethesourceofmuchconflictintheworldtoday.Isitbettertoaimhigh,andnotreach,ortoaimataverageandreachit?Isitbettertobegoodorfair?Isitbettertobeoptimisticorpessimistic?Thereareseveralbranchesineachofthesecategories,andnoonesidecanbepr
2、oventoberightinallbranches.Butwhatexactlyisidealismandrealism,andwhydotheymatter? Thedefinitionsofthetwowordsshouldbeobvious,butforclaritysake,theyaregivenhere.Idealism,accordingtotheAmericanHeritageDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage,means"Theactorpracticeofenvisioning
3、thingsinanidealform."Insimplerlanguage,itmeanstoaimforperfection.Onthesurface,itsoundsnice,butallthisignoresthebasichumantrait,theonesharedacrosscultures,languages,andraces:imperfection.Tobehumanistobeerrant.Thus,thedreamsofidealistsoftengetdashedandprojectstheyatt
4、emptoftenendeitherinfailureoratleast"lessthantheycouldhavebeen." Ontheotherhand,realismmeans"theinclinationtowardsliteraltruthandpragmatism"(ibid).Italsomeanstoacceptlifethewayitis,andfavourthepracticalmethodofdealingwithit.Thistooseemstobeagoodtraitontheoutside,bu
5、tithassomeflaws.Toonlyaimforaveragecutsshortthepotentialofhumanity.Justbecausehumanityisn'tperfectdoesnotmeanitcannotreachexcellenteverynowandthen. Therearesignificantcontrastingplussidestoboth.Tobeanidealististoreachforthestars.However,idealistsoftenbecomelostinth
6、eirdreams,andforgettherealworldaroundthem;andasaresultcanacquireanout-of-touchauraaboutthem.Realistsontheotherhandaremoregroundedinreality(hencethename),andasaresultareoftenbetterpreparedtodealwithit.However,astheyfocustoomuchonreality,theyoftenaimlowerthancanberea
7、ched,onlyaimingforwhatcanbereachedwithassurance,andasaresultoftenmissoutonthefewtimeshumanitydoesreachexcellence.Howdoesthisapplytoourworld?Severalways! Youhavetheoldoptimist-pessimist,is-the-glass-half-full-or-half-emptyargumentthatrathernicelysumsthiswholethingup
8、.However,mostoftheattentionoftengetsfocusedonthestudiesthatshowhowoptimistslivelongerthanpessimists.Ihaveneverheardastudyasofyetthatshowshowpessi
