Questions tagged [materialism]
Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds the fundamental basis of reality is matter and all mental states are caused by states of this material world.
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Can Thomas Nagel be considered an epiphenomenalist?
Regarding the mind-body-problem, Thomas Nagel argues against both materialism and ontological dualism, presenting a view which revolves around subjective phenomena (individualism).
Could these ...
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Does Marx make a metaphysical/ontological argument for Materialism anywhere?
As I understand it currently, I read Marx as more of a historian, economist and sociologist and I am finding it hard to locate any metaphysical argument against Hegel's 'idealism'.
All I know is this ...
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Struggling with understanding Platonic idealism and idealism in general
I probably incorrectly understand some basic things, so I'll show my layman thinking process for easier identification of where lies the problem.
Let's start with basic dichotomy - materialism vs. ...
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What do philosophers mean when they say qualia do not exist?
In university, my professor said that his position is that there are no qualia. He acknowledged that non-philosophers can find this position bizarre, but did not explain the rationale behind why he ...
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Translation of Lenin's "Materialism and Empirio-Criticism"
What is the best translation of Lenin's Materialism and Empirio-criticism (Материализм и эмпириокритицизм) into English (or perhaps other wide-spread languages)? I would like to have the closest there ...
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This is a question of ethics
Few thousand years ago two Indian schools carvakas and Ajivikas challenged Karma doctrine , as there was no good or bad deeds and no reward or punishment , Is there any Western thought similar to this ...
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Why is “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco often regarded as postmodern?
Why is “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco often regarded as postmodern?
The only somewhat plausible explanation (yet I���m still quite sure that it is not correct) I’ve managed to come up with is ...
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How can complex material systems emerge in ways that allow them to transcend fundamental material structures?
One of the quandaries of reductionism from what I understand is how complex systems can emerge to overtake simple ones. This may sound convoluted, so bear with me as I try to explain.
According to a ...
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Productive Forces vs. Conditions of Bourgeois Property
In The Communist Manifesto, page 331 of the 2002/2014 Penguin Edition, Marx and Engels write;
"The productive forces at the disposal of society no longer tend to further the development of the ...
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Henry George vs. Karl Marx
I recently came across some of Marx's critique of Georgism, and was wondering where else the theories of these two thinkers conflict. Georgism to me certainly seems to have a slight materialist bent ...
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Source of Godel's quote on materialism
In an interview, David Berlinski quoted Godel's view on materialism:
It [materialism] succeeds to the extent that the materialists assign
material objects all the properties that used to be ...
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If each of our thoughts is entirely determined by the brain, can there be free will or a soul?
Supposing that every single thing that exists in our mind is due to the brain, and supposing that each and every decision we have is determined by our neurons, can there be free will? How? If ...
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Can any philosophy of mind be empirically verified?
(This is sort of a follow-up from this question)
Can dualism, materialism, or anything in between be empirically verified? There seems to be some disagreement here. This page presents both views ...
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What does the experience of free will imply in a materialistic worldview?
In responses and comments to Do human thoughts interact with matter?, one answer begins, "Thoughts consist of nerve impulses..."
Which, as I understand the materialist view, is partially correct. ...
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What did Bohm exactly mean when he said that mind and matter were the same?
In 1990, the physicist David Bohm published a paper named "A new theory of the relationship of mind and matter" promoting a "panpsychist" theory of consciousness based on Bohm's interpretation of ...
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