Knowledge Tree
materialism
Also known as: materialisms
Facts (81)
Sources
Critique of Panpsychism: Philosophical Coherence and Scientific ... thequran.love May 7, 2025 10 facts
perspectivePanpsychism is considered a monist framework that avoids the interaction dilemma associated with Cartesian dualism and avoids the trivialization or elimination of consciousness found in some materialist models.
referenceThe Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on 'Panpsychism' by D. Skrbina provides a historical survey of the topic, quotes Leibniz and other thinkers, and identifies panpsychism as a 'third way' between dualism and materialism.
perspectivePanpsychists argue that their view is superior to materialism because it acknowledges the explanatory burden of consciousness, whereas they claim materialism ignores or denies the existence of the hard problem.
perspectivePanpsychism is often presented by its advocates as a middle path that avoids the pitfalls of extreme materialism and Cartesian dualism.
claimMaterialism assumes that physical structure is all that exists, dualism assumes the existence of two substances, and panpsychism assumes an underlying continuity of mind in matter.
claimThe 'emergence problem' or 'magic hypothesis' refers to the materialist belief that consciousness emerges from completely non-conscious matter, which panpsychists argue is an utterly mysterious and unsupported claim.
perspectivePanpsychists argue that materialism is also counterintuitive because it requires the belief that subjective qualities are identical to complex neural firings.
claimPanpsychists argue that the 'combination problem'—how micro-conscious entities combine into a larger subject—is no more difficult, and potentially easier, than the problem materialism faces in explaining how mind emerges from mindless matter.
perspectivePanpsychists argue that refusing to engage in metaphysical inquiry regarding consciousness, as some hardline materialists do by labeling consciousness an illusion, is an immature approach to the problem.
claimScience writer Olivia Goldhill observes that the resurgence of panpsychism is driven by the view that traditional approaches to consciousness, specifically materialism and dualism, continue to struggle with the subject.
Moving Forward on the Problem of Consciousness - David Chalmers consc.net 9 facts
claimDavid Chalmers asserts that the truth of materialism depends on whether all facts follow from physical facts, noting that in most domains, this appears to be the case.
referenceHardcastle, V.G. (1996) authored 'The why of consciousness: A non-issue for materialists', published in the Journal of Consciousness Studies 3:7-13.
claimThe Russellian view can be interpreted as a form of 'materialism' because it asserts that physical reality is all there is, while simultaneously arguing that physical reality contains more than what current physical theory describes.
claimAndy Clark and Valerie Hardcastle advocate for a type-B materialism that reconciles realism about phenomenal consciousness with materialism by positing an empirical identity between conscious experiences and physical processes.
claimColin McGinn's view suggests that materialism is true, but humans are cognitively limited and cannot grasp the theory that reveals this truth.
claimDavid Chalmers interprets Daniel Dennett's 'Orwell/Stalin' discussion as an argument that takes materialism as a premise to conclude that functional facts exhaust all facts about consciousness.
perspectiveDavid Chalmers characterizes materialism as an a posteriori doctrine that is held because it explains many phenomena, rather than a prior, fundamental, or religious commitment.
claimDavid Chalmers argues that Saul Kripke's treatment of a posteriori necessity cannot save materialism regarding consciousness because a posteriori constraints simply cause worlds to be redescribed rather than ruling conceivable worlds impossible.
perspectiveDavid Chalmers posits that if type-B materialism is accepted, the resulting explanatory picture resembles his own naturalistic dualism more than standard materialism, as it abandons the attempt to explain consciousness solely through physical processes.
Theories and Methods of Consciousness biomedres.us Jan 29, 2024 7 facts
claimContemporary materialism highlights the neural correlates of consciousness in the brain as the origin and nature of consciousness.
referenceLevine J published 'Materialism and qualia: the explanatory gap' in Pacific Philosophical Quarterly in 1983.
claimMaterialists aim to identify the networking areas of the brain that produce conscious processes (contents and states of consciousness) using neuroscience techniques such as EEG, fMRI, and rMRI.
referenceTaylor S published 'An introduction to panspiritism: An alternative to materialism and panpsychism' in Zygon in 2020.
claimHenry P. Stapp proposed 'Quantum Interactive Dualism' as an alternative to materialism in the context of consciousness studies.
claimScientific literature on consciousness from a materialist perspective is dominated by three methodological approaches: correlational studies, stimulation studies, and ablation studies.
claimCognitive psychology fails to resolve the combination problem of consciousness and aligns with either materialism or post-materialism, but not both.
The Hard Problem of Consciousness | Springer Nature Link link.springer.com 7 facts
claimOntological models regarding the hard problem of consciousness can be classified into monist ontologies and dualisms, with monisms further divided into materialisms and idealisms, and dualisms into substance dualisms and aspect dualisms.
referenceDavid Chalmers provides in-depth discussions on various versions of materialism and the reasons for their supposed invalidity regarding the solution of the hard problem of consciousness in his works from 1995, 2002, and 2010.
quote“The it-from-bit view is closer to materialism—at least, if we think of bits as the fundamental components of matter. But it is a distinctive and special form of materialism”
referenceRobert Kirk published 'Zombies vs materialists' in the Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society in 1974.
claimIn the context of the source text, 'materialism' refers to the classical physical concept of a universe constituted by known physical forces governed by known deterministic causal laws.
claimMaterialism avoids the combination problem by eliminating consciousness.
claimThe 'it-from-bit' view is considered a distinctive and special form of materialism, provided that bits are conceptualized as the fundamental components of matter.
Panpsychism: Conscious Rocks and Socks - Free Thinking Ministries freethinkingministries.com Nov 24, 2023 5 facts
claimAtheists may be attracted to panpsychism as a way to reject the perceived incoherence of materialism while avoiding the necessity of postulating God or souls.
claimPhilip Goff argues against the materialistic views held by Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett in the first three chapters of 'Galileo's Error: Foundation for a New Science of Consciousness'.
claimDr. Tim Stratton suggests that Philip Goff may prefer substance dualism or panpsychism over materialism because of the philosophical challenge known as 'the hard problem' of consciousness.
claimPhilip Goff argues that materialism is incoherent and finds substance dualism unsatisfactory.
perspectiveThe author asserts that Philip Goff prefers substance dualism over materialism, but prefers panpsychism over substance dualism because he views materialism as incoherent and panpsychism as simpler than dualism.
Panpsychism - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 5 facts
perspectiveDavid Chalmers and Philip Goff describe panpsychism as an alternative to both materialism and dualism.
perspectiveDavid Chalmers argues that panpsychism offers the benefits of materialism by potentially allowing consciousness to be physical while avoiding the problem of epiphenomenalism.
perspectiveDavid Chalmers calls panpsychism an alternative to both materialism and dualism.
referenceDavid Chalmers's 2015 argument for the mind-body problem consists of: (1) Thesis: materialism is true; everything is fundamentally physical. (2) Antithesis: dualism is true; not everything is fundamentally physical. (3) Synthesis: panpsychism is true.
quoteJohn R. Searle stated in 'Consciousness and Language' (p. 47): 'Dualism makes the problem insoluble; materialism denies the existence of any phenomenon to study, and hence of any problem.'
Mind and Consciousness - St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology saet.ac.uk Jun 20, 2024 4 facts
quoteDean Zimmerman wrote: "A serious philosophical debate about the relative merits of dualism and materialism will seem anachronistic to some. But really, it should need no defense. Dualism has arguably been the majority view for as long as we have records about such things; and perhaps, given the way our minds work, it is inevitable that we will continue to think of ourselves in dualistic ways. As the default assumption of humankind, dualism surely deserves philosophical scrutiny."
claimThe terms 'dualism', 'materialism', 'physicalism', 'hylomorphism', 'panpsychism', 'holism', and 'idealism' were unknown to biblical authors and early Christian theologians.
claimIn contemporary philosophical and theological debates, the terms 'materialism' and 'physicalism' are typically treated as synonymous.
claimContemporary theological and philosophical debates regarding mind and consciousness utilize terms such as dualism, materialism/physicalism, hylomorphism, panpsychism, holism, and idealism.
The Conscious Mind - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 4 facts
claimIn 'The Conscious Mind', David Chalmers argues that the physical world does not exhaust the actual, meaning materialism is false; that consciousness is a fundamental fact of nature; and that science and philosophy should strive to discover a fundamental law of consciousness.
perspectiveDavid Chalmers rejects materialism but embraces naturalism, meaning he believes reality is governed in full by fundamental laws of nature rather than exclusively by the laws of physics.
claimDavid Lewis, a proponent of materialism, praised David Chalmers for his understanding of the issues presented in 'The Conscious Mind', despite Lewis's own views being criticized throughout the book.
claimPatricia and Paul Churchland criticized David Chalmers' claim that everything except consciousness logically supervenes on the physical, arguing that this failure of supervenience does not necessarily mean materialism is false, citing heat and luminescence as physical properties that do logically supervene on the physical.
Panpsychism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Fall 2015 Edition) plato.stanford.edu May 23, 2001 3 facts
perspectiveGustav Fechner contrasted the "day-view" (a vibrant, open, panpsychist understanding of the world) with the "night-view" (materialism).
perspectiveMorton Prince (1854-1929) advocated for a form of panpsychism that emphasized that matter must be psychologized or imbued with mentalistic attributes, which he regarded as a form of materialism.
quoteGalen Strawson argues for a revised conception of materialism, stating that "the experiential considered specifically as such—the portion of reality we have to do with when we consider experiences specifically and solely in respect of the experiential character they have for those who have them as they have them—that ‘just is’ physical."
Dualism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Winter 2016 Edition) plato.stanford.edu Aug 19, 2003 3 facts
claimNon-reductive physicalism is a label used for versions of materialism that attempt to tie the mental to the physical without explicitly explaining the mental in terms of its behaviour-modifying role.
referenceR. T. Herbert authored the article 'Dualism/materialism', published in the Philosophical Quarterly in 1998.
referenceDavid Chalmers maintains the 'Online Papers on Materialism and Dualism' list.
GWT: A Leading Consciousness Theory Depends on Information ... mindmatters.ai Oct 15, 2021 2 facts
perspectiveIntegrated Information Theory may be part of a scientific trend where emergence and panpsychist theories are replacing materialist and physicalist theories.
claimGlobal Workspace Theory is not firmly tied to mechanism or materialism.
Hard problem of consciousness - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 2 facts
perspectiveDavid Chalmers's theory of consciousness contradicts physicalism (also known as materialism), which is the view that everything that exists is a physical or material thing and can be reduced to microphysical components.
referenceJoseph Levine introduced the concept of the 'explanatory gap' regarding materialism and qualia in his 1983 paper 'Materialism and qualia: the explanatory gap'.
What is hard about the “hard problem of consciousness”? philosophy.stackexchange.com Nov 18, 2020 2 facts
claimDaniel Dennett argues that asserting the impossibility of a RoboMary is not an argument for the falsity of materialism, but rather an assumption of it.
perspectiveDaniel Dennett asserts that contemporary materialism supports the view that humans are essentially robots made of robots, and that if materialism is true, it should be possible to build a material robot brain that instantiates the same theory of experience as a human brain.
What is the hard problem of consciousness according to David ... quora.com Oct 21, 2020 2 facts
Panpsychism - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jul 18, 2017 2 facts
referenceDavid J. Chalmers authored 'The Two-Dimensional Argument Against Materialism', published in the 'Oxford Handbook of the Philosophy of Mind' in 2009.
perspectiveMorton Prince (1854–1929) advocated for a form of panpsychism that emphasized that matter must be 'psychologized' or imbued with mentalistic attributes, a view he regarded as a form of materialism.
David Chalmers and the hard problem of consciousness - Medium medium.com May 7, 2024 1 fact
claimDavid Chalmers' arguments against a materialist explanation of consciousness rely on the concepts of supervenience and logically possible worlds.
This paper argues that consciousness must be viewed through a ... reddit.com Nov 18, 2025 1 fact
perspectiveThe paper titled 'This paper argues that consciousness must be viewed through a...' argues that consciousness should be viewed through a spectrum-based lens rather than the traditional, simplistic clash between materialism and other philosophical perspectives.
Self-Consciousness - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jul 13, 2017 1 fact
claimSydney Shoemaker argued in his 1984 work 'Personal Identity: A Materialist’s Account' for a materialist perspective on personal identity.
Philosophical perspectives on consciousness | Humans - Vocal Media vocal.media 1 fact
claimPhysicalism, also known as materialism, argues that consciousness arises entirely from physical processes within the brain, meaning mental states are identical to neural states.
Episode 19, Mind, Body and Consciousness (Part I) - The Panpsycast thepanpsycast.com Jun 5, 2017 1 fact
procedureThe Panpsycast episode 19, 'Mind, Body and Consciousness (Part I)', is structured into four parts: Substance Dualism (starting at 09:20), Materialism (starting at 33:45), Panpsychism (starting at 00:10 in Part II), and Further Analysis and Discussion (starting at 16:40 in Part II).
Hard Problem of Consciousness | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 1 fact
referenceGalen Strawson authored the book 'Real Materialism and Other Essays', which was published by Oxford University Press in 2008.
A Neuroscientific Theory of Consciousness - Sites at Dartmouth sites.dartmouth.edu Dec 16, 2024 1 fact
claimBernardo Kastrup, in his book 'Why Materialism Is Baloney', argues against the common assumption that materialism—the belief that the universe is purely physical and consciousness arises from physical phenomena—is the most plausible theory of consciousness.
What are the major theories of consciousness? How do materialism ... facebook.com Mar 15, 2026 1 fact
claimMaterialism, dualism, panpsychism, and idealism are four philosophical perspectives used to compare theories of consciousness.
Panpsychism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Fall 2025 Edition) plato.stanford.edu May 23, 2001 1 fact
referenceGalen Strawson edited the book 'Real Materialism and Other Essays', published in 2008 by Oxford University Press, which includes a reprint of 'Chomsky and his Critics' edited by Antony and Hornstein.
Quantum Approaches to Consciousness plato.stanford.edu Nov 30, 2004 1 fact
claimStrong reductionism claims that all mental states and properties can be reduced to the material domain (materialism) or to physics (physicalism), asserting that exploring the material domain is both necessary and sufficient to understand the mental domain.
Quantum Mechanics And Consciousness: The Physics Of Mind quantumzeitgeist.com Apr 17, 2025 1 fact
claimMaterialism posits that consciousness is a physical process where the mind arises from physical processes.
(PDF) Quantum Mechanics and Consciousness - Academia.edu academia.edu 1 fact
referenceGalen Strawson argued that physicalism entails panpsychism in his 2006 article 'Realistic Materialism: Why Physicalism Entails Panpsychism'.
Research - Keith Frankish keithfrankish.com 1 fact
perspectiveKeith Frankish argues that materialists should be thoroughgoing eliminativists about qualia, questioning the coherence of the weak conception of qualia typically employed by materialists.
David Chalmers Thinks the Hard Problem Is Really Hard scientificamerican.com Apr 10, 2017 1 fact
perspectiveDavid Chalmers suggests that even with a theory of consciousness, metaphysical debates regarding materialism, dualism, and whether consciousness is fundamental would likely persist.