materialism

Table of Contents

Introduction
Types of materialist theory
- Types distinguished by departures from the paradigm
- Type distinguished by its view of history
- Types distinguished by their account of mind
History of materialism
- Greek and Roman materialism
- Modern materialism
- Twentieth-century materialism
  - Translation central-state theories
  - Disappearance central-state theories
- Eastern materialism
Substantive issues in materialism
- Reductionism, consciousness, and the brain
- Logic, intentionality, and psychical research

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materialism

philosophy

Written by John Jamieson Carswell Smart

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Feb 2, 2024 • Article History

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Category: History & Society

Also called:: physicalism

Key People:: Alfred North Whitehead

Related Topics:: objectivism; dialectical materialism; mechanism; epiphenomenalistic materialism; physicalistic materialism

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materialism, in philosophy, the view that all facts (including facts about the human mind and will and the course of human history) are causally dependent upon physical processes, or even reducible to them. The word materialism has been used in modern times to refer to a family of metaphysical theories (i.e., theories of the nature of reality) that can best be defined by saying that a theory tends to be called materialist if it is felt sufficiently to resemble a paradigmatic theory that will here be called mechanical materialism. This article covers the various types of materialism and the ways ...(100 of 4725 words)

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