It is important to notice the use of ism words in academic reading and writing. These words (eg. pragmatism or socialism) are used with a lot of emphasis in the academic world. They are very powerful because they summarize important patterns in human life and history, as well as specific phenomena in the natural world. ( They have good value for writing all kinds of essays because of their status as deep concepts - see article )
You should know that the ism words can be 1) a point of view OR 2) a situation ( or both)
Note also that the suffix ism also has its brother ist. The suffix ist is used to make the ism into the noun person that believes or follows the ism. You also have the suffix istic to make an adjective.
eg. My brother believes in realism. He is a realist. He wrote a book. The book is realistic.
eg. My sister believes in optimism. She is an optimist. She wrote a book. The book is optimistic.
Study the following as an introduction to ism words. Prepare to read short segments on your test that exemplify each point of view. You will have to identify the point of view.
idealism - This is a point of view or situation where the people appreciate beauty and perfection. These people see the world the way they want it to be. For example, an idealist might think that everyone in a country should get a high education and learn how to play a musical instrument. However, not everyone can have a high education, and not all people are interested in music
realism - This is a point of view or situation where the people appreciate a balanced approach to life, which involves checking evidence and facts before making decisions. For example, a realistic person might check what kind of workers are in demand before he makes his career choice.
optimism - This is a point of view or situation where the people see everything in a positive way, and talk about things with positive words.
pessimism - This is a point of view or situation where the people see everything in a negative way, and talk about things with negative words.
basic humanism - This is a point of view or situation where the people appreciate all of human life- languages, learning, dancing, art, music, family relationships, etc.
animism - This is a point of view or situation where the people believe that every object, including rocks, trees, machines etc. have a personality and a spirit. An animist might avoid walking in a certain park because he thinks the trees are angry at him. This point of view appears in various small villages and tribes around the world. Some people in industrialized countries also follow this thinking from time to time.
animalism - This is a point of view or situation where people act crazy, running in the streets, jumping out of windows, smashing cars, and crushing people to death for no reason.
classism - This is a point of view or situation where the people believe that the rich people in a country should stay rich, and the poor people should stay poor. This way the country will be stable. This point of view says that if some poor people try to become rich, it will cause trouble in the country. Therefore, each person should learn to accept his place in life.
opportunism - This is a point of view or situation where people try to get advantages from any situation that they are in. For example, imagine you are at a party with your friend, and he is trying to get a job. Then you find out that there is a man at the party who owns a big factory and might be able to him a job. It would be opportunism if your friend goes and talks to the man to ask about a job.
stoicism - This is a common and ancient point of view which appreciates hard work and a stable life. Stoics do not care about pleasure or pain. They only care about hard work, perseverance, and making sure that they are doing their share of work in the society. If a stoic has a very bad situation or accident in his life, he will not jump up and down and scream in anger. Instead, he will be very calm, and he will decide carefully what steps to take to solve the situation.
epicureanism - This is a point of view or situation where the people appreciate pleasures in life, but the pleasures must be enjoyed with a sense of style and balance. The food, music, dancing, and art that these people enjoy are carefully chosen, and these people never over consume these things.
hedonism - This is a point of view or situation where the people try to get as much pleasure as they can as quickly as possible. These people try to get music, food, dancing, sex, and any other pleasure as much as possible, without worrying about consequences.
utopianism - This is a point of view or situation where the people believe that they can build a perfect society or community. This kind of community would have no unemployment, no fighting, no crime, and every family would be perfectly happy.
sensationalism - This is a situation where people such as television journalists give information by using flashy colours, words, and big statements. Sometimes the information itself is not so interesting or exciting, but television or newspapers "sensationalize" the information so that people will get excited about it.
skepticism - This is a point of view or situation where the people always check the evidence for things. For example, these people will rarely believe in ghosts or miracles. They always say that science has disproved these things, and if someone said they saw a ghost, a skeptic would have 100 scientific explanations to show that it could not be true. Actually, skeptics sometimes spend so much energy on checking evidence and fighting against ideas that they have no energy left to believe in anything. At the same time, skepticism is a skill that every educated person should develop and cultivate. Academic work is all about having a healthy level of skepticism.
cynicism - This is a point of view or situation where people do not trust the motivations of people, and they make harsh statements against religious and political leaders, or anyone else who has a pure reputation. For example, a very strong cynic might say that Mother Teresa was a crook. She did not really care about the poor people she cared for. She was just trying to steal from them.
existentialism - This is one of the most misunderstood points of view in the world. This is a point of view which focuses on the feelings of individual human beings. The basic idea of this point of view is that all human beings are alone. This point of view gives a lot of importance to death and despair. It states that even though a person may have family and friends, he is still alone in his decisions, feelings, and especially in his death. Because of this he must make the important decisions of life alone. There is no one who can help him. This point of view tends to emphasize that people should enjoy the present moment, and not try to think too much about the past or the future.