The second misconception can only be eliminated by an explanation of Hegel’s position on the nature of ultimate reality. Hegel described himself as an ‘absolute idealist’. ‘Idealism’ in philosophy does not mean what it means in ordinary language: it has nothing to do with having lofty ideals or striving to be morally perfect. The philosophical term should really be ‘idea-ism’ rather than ‘ideal-ism’, for its sense is that it is ideas, or more broadly our minds, our thoughts, our consciousness, that constitute ultimate reality.
