IGNORANCE119facts on the basis of which to form moral
judgments, and an affective awareness of
all involved parties. One can accept an
ideal observer theory while denying that
an ideal observer exists, though a theist
may claim that God functions as such an
ideal judge.
IDEALISM. A general term that has
been employed to describe worldviews
in which the mind or the mental is foun-
dational in the order of being. George
Berkeley is a clear example of an idealist
as he held that reality is at base consti-
tuted by God, finite spirits, and minds;
what we think of as mind-independent
matter is constituted by perceptual expe-
riences, human and divine. Berkeley’s
outlook is sometimes called subjective
idealism. More difficult to classify is
Hegel who has been described as an
objective idealist. Hegel did not think the
material world was constituted by minds
and their states, but he thought that all of
reality reflected a rational structure that is
supremely intelligible to mind.
IDOL / IDOLATRY. Treating a person,
thing, or event with the praise and alle-
giance owed to God. Idolatry is the
worship of any image or object, and an
idol is that which assumes the role of
a false God. In monotheistic faiths idola-
try is often expanded to encompass the
valuing of any person, object, or activity
above God. For example, when Moses
descended Mt. Horeb with the Ten
Commandments, he discovered the
Israelites engaged in idolatry, worshiping
a statue of a golden calf. Today, idols
may consist of wealth, power, eros, or any
number of objects or acts that can come
to control a person’s life rather than God
or that which is truly sacred.
Idolatry is negative in the Abrahamic
traditions because it involves the wor-
shiping of a worldly creation, when it is
only the creator that deserves such
credit. Certain branches of Christianity,
including Roman Catholicism and the
Orthodox denominations, allow for the
depiction of religious figures, such as
Jesus Christ. However, the depiction of
religious figures falls under the umbrella
of idolatry in fundamentalist Christian
denominations, Judaism, and Islam.
Hinduism is sometimes viewed as
an idolatrous faith; this is not entirely
accurate. Hindu philosophers view all
language to be just as representative of
the eternal as any image or object. Repre-
senting attributes of the divine symboli-
cally is acceptable, although they believe
that ultimately Brahman is beyond any
worldly representation.IGNORANCE. In Christian ethics, some
forms of ignorance are held to vitiate
responsibility. Invincible ignorance is an
ignorance the agent cannot (at least in
current conditions) overcome. Perhaps
we are in a state of invincible ignorance
when it comes to confident views of the
mental states of some animals (do fish