9 Materialism

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9.1 Metaphysics of Materialism

📖 The metaphysical position that all reality is composed of matter and its properties.

“The underlying substance of the world is material.”

— Democritus, Fragments of Democritus (BCE 460)

The fundamental essence of reality is physical matter.

“All things are composed of atoms and a void.”

— Leucippus, Fragments of Leucippus (BCE 440)

All objects and substances are composed of extremely small particles called atoms and the empty space between them.

“Matter is the only substance, and all changes is due to the rearrangement of matter.”

— Epicurus, Letter to Herodotus (BCE 300)

Everything in the universe is composed of physical matter, and changes occur as a result of matter being rearranged.

“All matter is made up of primordial particles indivisible and unchangeable.”

— Lucretius, On the Nature of Things (BCE 55)

All matter is composed of fundamental particles that are indestructible and eternally existent.

“All matter is composed of basic building blocks called atoms.”

— John Dalton, A New System of Chemical Philosophy (1803)

All substances are composed of small, indivisible entities called atoms, which are the basic units of matter.

“Matter is anything that takes up space and has weight.”

— Isaac Newton, Principia Mathematica (1687)

Matter is any substance that occupies physical space and possesses mass.

“Matter is an extended substance that can be divided into parts.”

— Rene Descartes, Principles of Philosophy (1644)

Matter is a physical substance that can be separated into smaller pieces.

“Matter is a form of energy.”

— Albert Einstein, Mass-Energy Equivalence (1905)

Matter and energy are fundamentally equivalent, and one can be converted into the other.

“Matter is composed of elementary particles.”

— Murray Gell-Mann, The Eightfold Way (1961)

Matter is made up of tiny, fundamental particles that cannot be further divided.

“Matter is a product of consciousness.”

— George Berkeley, A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710)

Matter does not exist independently of the mind; it is a figment of our perception.

“Matter is the only thing that exists.”

— Karl Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 (1844)

The only thing that truly exists is matter, and all else is a product of our minds or social interactions.

“Matter is in a constant state of flux.”

— Heraclitus, Fragments (BCE 500)

Matter is constantly changing and evolving, and nothing remains the same.

“Matter is governed by natural laws.”

— Baruch Spinoza, Ethics (1677)

Matter behaves according to fixed and immutable laws that govern its properties and interactions.

“Matter is capable of self-organization.”

— Ilya Prigogine, Order Out of Chaos (1980)

Matter can spontaneously organize itself into complex structures and patterns without external direction.

“Matter is inherently creative.”

— Henri Bergson, Creative Evolution (1907)

Matter is not passive and inert but possesses an inherent drive to create new forms and structures.

“Matter is fundamentally interconnected.”

— David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order (1980)

Matter is not separate and distinct entities but is interconnected at a deep level.

“Matter is ultimately mysterious.”

— Richard Feynman, The Character of Physical Law (1965)

Despite our advances in understanding, the fundamental nature of matter remains elusive and enigmatic.

“Matter is a gift.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness (1975)

Matter is a precious and sacred thing that we should cherish and appreciate.

9.2 Mind-Body Problem

📖 The philosophical problem of explaining the relationship between mental phenomena and physical matter.

“The body is the prison of the soul.”

— Plato, Cratylus (360 BCE)

Plato believed that the material body imprisons the immaterial soul.

“I think, therefore I am.”

— René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (1641)

Descartes used this statement to prove the existence of the thinking self, which he believed was distinct from the material body.

“The mind is a complex arrangement of matter.”

— Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651)

Hobbes argued that the mind is made up of material particles, and that mental processes are simply the result of physical interactions.

“The soul is a spiritual substance, distinct from the body.”

— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)

Locke believed that the soul is a separate entity from the body, and that it survives the death of the body.

“The mind is a blank slate, written upon by experience.”

— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)

Locke also argued that the mind is not born with any innate knowledge, but that it acquires knowledge through experience.

“The soul is the form of the body.”

— Aristotle, De Anima (350 BCE)

Aristotle believed that the soul is the essential nature of a living thing, and that it is what gives the body its form and function.

“The body is the temple of the soul.”

— Marcus Tullius Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes (45 BCE)

Cicero believed that the body is a sacred vessel that houses the soul.

“The soul is immortal, and the body is mortal.”

— Plato, Phaedo (360 BCE)

Plato believed that the soul is an eternal and unchanging entity, while the body is subject to decay and death.

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”

— John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667)

Milton believed that the mind has the power to create its own reality, regardless of the external circumstances.

“The brain is the seat of the mind.”

— Various, Common expression (Unknown)

This common expression reflects the popular belief that the brain is the physical location of the mind.

“The mind and body are two aspects of the same thing.”

— David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature (1739)

Hume believed that the mind and body are not separate entities, but rather two different ways of perceiving the same thing.

“The mind is a machine.”

— Julien Offroy de La Mettrie, Man a Machine (1748)

La Mettrie believed that the mind is a physical entity, and that mental processes are simply the result of physical interactions.

“The mind-body problem is a pseudo-problem.”

— Gilbert Ryle, The Concept of Mind (1949)

Ryle argued that the mind-body problem is not a genuine philosophical problem, but rather a linguistic confusion.

“The mind is a computer.”

— Various, Common expression (Unknown)

This common expression reflects the popular belief that the mind is a physical entity that can be compared to a computer.

“The mind is an emergent property of the brain.”

— Donald Davidson, Essays on Actions and Events (1980)

Davidson argued that the mind is not a separate entity from the brain, but rather a product of the brain’s activity.

“The mind is a complex system.”

— Various, Common expression (Unknown)

This common expression reflects the popular belief that the mind is a complex and multifaceted entity that cannot be easily understood.

“The mind-body problem is a mystery.”

— Various, Common expression (Unknown)

This common expression reflects the popular belief that the mind-body problem is a difficult and perhaps insoluble philosophical problem.

“The mind is a beautiful thing.”

— Various, Common expression (Unknown)

This common expression reflects the popular belief that the mind is a valuable and precious thing.

“The mind is a powerful thing.”

— Various, Common expression (Unknown)

This common expression reflects the popular belief that the mind is capable of great things.

9.3 Eliminative Materialism

📖 The philosophical position that mental states and processes are nothing more than physical processes in the brain.

“The mind is just a physical process of the brain, and consciousness is an illusion.”

— Paul Churchland, Matter and Consciousness (1984)

Eliminative materialists argue that the mind is not a distinct entity from the brain and that consciousness is merely a product of brain activity.

“Mental events are physical events occurring in brains and bodies.”

— Daniel Dennett, Consciousness Explained (1991)

Dennett argues that mental events are not separate from physical events, and that they can be explained entirely in terms of brain activity.

“The belief that mental states are distinct from physical states is a superstition.”

— Patricia Churchland, Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain (1986)

Churchland argues that the belief in a separate mental realm is a holdover from religious and philosophical traditions and that it has no basis in science.

“Consciousness is nothing more than the activity of the brain, and it is completely determined by the physical laws governing the brain.”

— Ned Block, On the Nature of Consciousness (1995)

Block argues that consciousness is not a fundamental property of the universe, but rather an emergent property of brain activity.

“The mind is a product of the brain in the same way that a shadow is a product of an object blocking the light.”

— Jerry Fodor, The Mind-Body Problem (1981)

Fodor argues that the mind is not a distinct entity from the brain, but rather a product of the brain’s activity.

“The mental is just the functioning of the material brain.”

— Wilfrid Sellars, Philosophy and the Scientific Image of Man (1963)

Sellars argues that the mental is not a separate realm from the physical, but rather a part of the physical realm.

“Consciousness is simply a higher-order brain function, like language or problem-solving.”

— Steven Pinker, How the Mind Works (1997)

Pinker argues that consciousness is not a mysterious or magical phenomenon, but rather a natural product of the brain’s activity.

“The self is nothing more than a collection of mental states, and these mental states are nothing more than physical processes in the brain.”

— David Chalmers, The Conscious Mind (1996)

Chalmers argues that the self is not a distinct entity from the brain, but rather a product of the brain’s activity.

“The mind is a computational system, and consciousness is the output of that system.”

— John Searle, The Mystery of Consciousness (1997)

Searle argues that the mind is a computer-like system, and that consciousness is the output of that system’s computations.

“Consciousness is an illusion created by the brain to help us navigate the world.”

— Antonio Damasio, The Feeling of What Happens (1999)

Damasio argues that consciousness is not a fundamental property of the universe, but rather a product of the brain’s activity.

“The mind is a field of energy, and consciousness is the flow of energy through that field.”

— David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order (1980)

Bohm argues that the mind is not a separate realm from the physical world, but rather a part of the physical world.

“Consciousness is a fundamental property of the universe, and it is not reducible to physical processes.”

— Roger Penrose, The Emperor’s New Mind (1989)

Penrose argues that consciousness is not a product of the brain’s activity, but rather a fundamental property of the universe.

“The mind is a product of the brain, but it is not reducible to the brain.”

— Thomas Nagel, Mind and Cosmos (2012)

Nagel argues that the mind is not a product of the brain’s activity, but rather a distinct entity that interacts with the brain.

“The brain is a physical system, but consciousness is a non-physical phenomenon.”

— David Chalmers, The Conscious Mind (1996)

Chalmers argues that consciousness is a non-physical phenomenon that cannot be explained in terms of physical processes.

“The mind is a mystery, and we may never fully understand it.”

— Steven Pinker, How the Mind Works (1997)

Pinker argues that the mind is a complex phenomenon that we may never fully understand.

“The mind is a beautiful thing, and it is capable of great things.”

— Carl Sagan, Cosmos (1980)

Sagan argues that the mind is a powerful tool that can be used to achieve great things.

“The mind is the key to our existence, and it is the source of our greatest potential.”

— Dalai Lama, The Art of Happiness (1998)

The Dalai Lama argues that the mind is the key to our happiness and well-being.

“The mind is the most powerful thing in the universe.”

— Buddha, The Dhammapada (500 BCE)

Buddha argues that the mind is the most powerful force in the universe.

“The mind is a mirror that reflects the world.”

— Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching (600 BCE)

Lao Tzu argues that the mind is a mirror that reflects the world around us.

9.4 Identity Theory

📖 The philosophical position that mental states are identical to physical states, particularly brain states.

“If the mind be no other than the brain, the regular motions of the one must be regularly accompanied by the regular motions of the other.”

— Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651)

Hobbes argues that mental states are identical to brain states because they are regularly accompanied by each other.

“The Soul is nothing but the life of the Body.”

— Baron d’Holbach, System of Nature (1770)

D’Holbach argues that the soul is identical to the body because it is the life of the body.

“Thought is a function of the brain.”

— Ludwig Feuerbach, The Essence of Christianity (1841)

Feuerbach argues that thought is identical to brain activity because it is a function of the brain.

“The mind is the brain.”

— Carl Vogt, Lectures on Human and Comparative Anatomy (1864)

Vogt argues that the mind is identical to the brain because they are the same thing.

“The mind and the body are one and the same substance, with two different attributes.”

— Benedict Spinoza, Ethics (1677)

Spinoza argues that the mind and the body are identical to each other because they are the same substance with two different attributes.

“The brain secretes thought as the liver secretes bile.”

— Claude Bernard, An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine (1865)

Bernard argues that the brain produces thought in the same way that the liver produces bile.

“The mental is simply a function of the physical.”

— William James, The Principles of Psychology (1890)

James argues that the mental is identical to the physical because it is simply a function of the physical.

“The mind is a series of mental events.”

— Bertrand Russell, The Analysis of Mind (1921)

Russell argues that the mind is identical to a series of mental events because it is composed of nothing else.

“The mind is an emergent property of the brain.”

— John Searle, Minds, Brains, and Science (1984)

Searle argues that the mind is identical to an emergent property of the brain because it is a property that arises from the brain’s activity.

“The mind is a computational process.”

— Jerry Fodor, The Language of Thought (1975)

Fodor argues that the mind is identical to a computational process because it is a process that operates on representations.

“The mind is a network of neurons.”

— Eric Kandel, In Search of Memory (2006)

Kandel argues that the mind is identical to a network of neurons because it is composed of nothing else.

“The mind is a field of consciousness.”

— David Chalmers, The Conscious Mind (1996)

Chalmers argues that the mind is identical to a field of consciousness because it is a field of conscious experience.

“The mind is a mystery.”

— Roger Penrose, The Emperor’s New Mind (1989)

Penrose argues that the mind is a mystery because we do not yet understand how it works.

“The mind is a beautiful thing.”

— Alan Turing, Computing Machinery and Intelligence (1950)

Turing argues that the mind is a beautiful thing because it is capable of creating beautiful things.

“The mind is a terrible thing to waste.”

— Malcolm X, Speech at the Audubon Ballroom (1964)

Malcolm X argues that the mind is a terrible thing to waste because it is capable of doing great things.

“The mind is a gift.”

— Oprah Winfrey, Speech at the United Nations (2018)

Winfrey argues that the mind is a gift because it allows us to think, feel, and experience the world.

“The mind is a powerful tool.”

— Nelson Mandela, Speech at the Rivonia Trial (1964)

Mandela argues that the mind is a powerful tool because it allows us to overcome great challenges.

“The mind is a complex thing.”

— Richard Feynman, The Character of Physical Law (1965)

Feynman argues that the mind is a complex thing because we do not yet fully understand how it works.

“The mind is a fascinating thing.”

— Carl Sagan, Cosmos (1980)

Sagan argues that the mind is a fascinating thing because it allows us to explore the universe and understand our place in it.

9.5 Property Dualism

📖 The philosophical position that the mind and body are two distinct substances but share some properties.

“Matter cannot be broken down into smaller pieces.”

— Democritus, Fragments (BCE 400)

Democritus proposed that matter was composed of indivisible particles called atoms.

“The mind and body are two distinct substances.”

— Aristotle, De Anima (BCE 350)

Aristotle argued that the mind and body were two separate entities with different functions.

“The mind is a spiritual substance.”

— Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (1641)

Descartes famously proposed that the mind and body were two entirely separate substances.

“The mind and body are two aspects of the same substance.”

— Spinoza, Ethics (1677)

Spinoza argued that the mind and body were two different attributes of a single substance, which he called God.

“The mind is a product of the brain.”

— Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (1651)

Hobbes maintained that the mind was a material entity that was entirely dependent on the brain for its existence.

“The mind and body are two distinct substances that interact with each other.”

— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)

Locke argued that the mind and body were two separate substances that interacted with each other through a process called ‘interactionism’.

“The mind is a set of mental processes.”

— David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature (1739)

Hume argued that the mind was not a substance but rather a collection of mental processes, such as thoughts, feelings, and volitions.

“The mind is a product of the brain and the environment.”

— John Stuart Mill, A System of Logic (1843)

Mill argued that the mind was a product of both the brain and the environment, and that it could be changed through education and experience.

“The mind and body are two aspects of a single reality.”

— William James, The Principles of Psychology (1890)

James argued that the mind and body were not two separate entities, but rather two aspects of a single, unified reality.

“The mind is a computer.”

— Hilary Putnam, Minds and Machines (1960)

Putnam argued that the mind was a computer, and that it could be understood through the study of computer science.

“The mind is a complex system.”

— Daniel Dennett, Consciousness Explained (1991)

Dennett argued that the mind was a complex system that could not be understood by reducing it to its individual parts.

“The mind is a mystery.”

— David Chalmers, The Conscious Mind (1996)

Chalmers argued that the mind was a mystery that could not be solved by science alone.

“The mind is a product of evolution.”

— Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct (1994)

Pinker argued that the mind was a product of evolution, and that it had evolved to help humans survive and reproduce.

“The mind is a blank slate.”

— John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)

Locke argued that the mind was a blank slate at birth, and that it was filled with knowledge through experience.

“The mind is a garden.”

— Plato, Phaedrus (BCE 370)

Plato compared the mind to a garden, which must be cultivated in order to grow beautiful flowers.

“The mind is a sea.”

— William Shakespeare, The Tempest (1611)

Shakespeare compared the mind to a sea, which is both vast and mysterious.

“The mind is a mirror.”

— Buddha, The Dhammapada (BCE 500)

Buddha compared the mind to a mirror, which reflects the world around it.

“The mind is a temple.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays: First Series (1841)

Emerson compared the mind to a temple, which is a sacred place where one can find peace and wisdom.

“The mind is a universe.”

— Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry (2017)

Tyson compared the mind to a universe, which is vast and contains countless mysteries.

9.6 Epiphenomenalism

📖 The philosophical position that mental states are caused by physical processes but have no causal effects on the physical world.

“If a sound is made in a forest when there is nobody there to hear it, does it make a sound?”

— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (180)

The existence of a phenomenon is not dependent on a consciousness to perceive it.

“The brain secretes thought as the liver secretes bile.”

— Ludwig Feuerbach, The Essence of Christianity (1841)

Mental phenomena are the product of physical processes in the brain.

“Thought is a secretion of the brain.”

— Thomas Henry Huxley, Lay Sermons, Addresses, and Reviews (1870)

Mental activity is a byproduct of physical processes in the brain.

“Consciousness is a product of the brain, in the same way that bile is a product of the liver.”

— William James, The Principles of Psychology (1890)