of thought. This has led to the view that true ethical action lies in the area of balance and intersection between idealism and reality.
             The central thesis that will be explored in this paper is that the conflict or the debate between idealism and realism is symptomatic of two very different world views, which relate to the distinction between the religious and the secular or materialist points of view. This is an extremely important distinction to acknowledge, as it refers to the different approaches to many ethical and educational practices.
             In order to understand the conflict between idealism and realism one must firstly understand the foundations of traditional idealism and the way that these foundations differ from modern conceptions of reality. In essence, idealism is based on a transcendental and less evident view of reality. Idealism is founded on the philosophical view which places emphasis on the mental nature or the ‘idea’ of all reality (Idealism). This refers to the view that “…only minds and the objects of mind exist, or that everything is composed of mental realities (e.g., thoughts, feelings, ideas, or will” (Idealism). In this strict view of idealism, reality is composed of ideas or creations of the mind (Peterson, 1986, p. 25).
             If we trace the history of modern idealism and idealistic philosophy we find its Western origins in the works of Plato. Plato stated in his theory of Forms that reality is dualistic or divided between truth and illusion. In other words, the world of ideal Forms refers to true reality in contradistinction to the world of everyday particulars, which is a false reality or an illusion. Therefore, there is only one reality which is the reality of ideal forms. The mundane world is, according to Plato, only a weak reflection or imitation of the reality of Forms. The ideal of perfection is expressed clearly by Plato in The Phaedrus.
             For those which we called immortal go ...