Can realism be defined in 5 straight-forward points?
1. A realism that is too satisfied by what is will never be improved by an idealism (religion) of what could or ought to be.
2. A too thorough realism might lead one to a hopeless atheism.
3. Religion is an idealism with an almost inexhaustible source of energy.
4. Religion’s idealistic energy comes from the fact that it can neither be wholly falsified, nor proven.
5. A realism which falsifies idealism or religion too hastily is too pessimistic. A religion or idealism with no self-criticism runs a dangerous course.
In some measure, we are torn between a realism that sees the world as a fact we cannot change, and an idealism that hopes what we see is not the last word. We dream beyond what we see, and question if what we see is all there is.
