What is the fundamental difference between idealism and materialism? It is the opposite answer to the fundamental question of philosophy, namely, the question of the relationship between mind and matter (the question of the relationship between consciousness and existence). Spiritualism recognizes the wind (consciousness, idea, subject) as the source of everything in the world, and the matter (nature and society, objects) as merely its appendages. Materialism holds that matter exists independently of spirit, and spirit is only an appendage to it. Starting from the opposite answer to this fundamental question, diverging opinions on all questions arise. According to idealism, the world is either a synthesis of our perceptions or a mental process created by our or the world's reason. The outer material world is either regarded entirely as an imaginary illusion or as the physical shell of the spiritual element. Human cognition is the automatism of the subject and the product of the spirit itself. On the contrary, materialism holds that the unity of the universe lies in its materiality. Spirit (consciousness) is one of the natures of matter, which occurs when matter has reached a certain stage of development. Nature, matter, the objective world, exists outside the spirit, independent of the spirit. Human cognition is the reflection of the objective outside world.

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