''Idealism'' is any system or theory that maintains that the "real" is of the nature of thought or that the object of external perception consists of ideas. It can also be the tendency to represent things in an ideal form, or as they might or should be rather than as they are, with emphasis on values. | ''Idealism'' is any system or theory that maintains that the "real" is of the nature of thought or that the object of external perception consists of ideas. It can also be the tendency to represent things in an ideal form, or as they might or should be rather than as they are, with emphasis on values. |