Materialism

In philosophy and metaphysics, materialism is a form of monism holding that matter is the fundamental substance of nature, so that all things, including mind and consciousness, arise from material interactions and depend on physical processes, including those of the human brain and nervous system. It contrasts with monistic idealism, which treats consciousness as fundamental, and is related to naturalism, the view that only natural laws and forces operate in the universe, and to physicalism, the view that all that exists is ultimately physical. Physicalism extends materialism by including forms of physicality beyond ordinary matter (e.g. spacetime, energy, forces, exotic matter), and some use the terms interchangeably.

Alternative or opposing views to materialism or physicalism include idealism, pluralism, dualism, solipsism, panpsychism, and other forms of monism.

Overview

Materialism is the philosophical doctrine that matter has a primary position in the nature of the world, with mind or consciousness emerging as a secondary, dependent reality or not existing at all. In its extreme form, materialism asserts that the real world consists of only material things, with the important qualification that space and time must also be included if these are realities rather than mere systems of relations. Materialism belongs to the class of monist ontology, and is thus different from ontological theories based on dualism or pluralism. For singular explanations of the phenomenal reality, materialism is in contrast to idealism, neutral monism, and spiritualism. It can also contrast with phenomenalism, vitalism, and dual-aspect monism.