In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena (including consciousness) are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance. As a theory, materialism is a form of physicalism and belongs to the class of monist onology. As such, it is different from ontological theories based on dualism or pluralism. For singular explanations of the phenomenal reality, materialism would be in contrast to idealism, neutral monism and spiritualism.
wikipedia.org
“Materialism, as traditionally conceived, has a contingent side and a necessary side. The necessity of materialism is reflected by the metaphysics of realization, while its contingency is a matter of accepting the possibility of Cartesian worlds, worlds in which our minds are roughly as Descartes describes them. In this paper we argue that the necessity and the contingency of materialism are in conflict. In particular, we claim that is mental properties are realized by physical properties in the actual world, Cartesian worlds are impossible.”
Levine, Joseph, and Kelly Trogdon. "The Modal Status of Materialism."
Philosophical Studies 145.3 (2009): 351-362. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 3 Dec. 2010.
“An empirical relationship has been documented between gratitude and materialism, such that stronger feelings of gratitude are associated with lower materialism. Building on Fredrickson's (1998, 2001) theory that positive emotions 'broaden' and 'build' we sought to expand upon this finding by (1) examining satisfaction with life as a potential mechanism for this relationship, and (2) exploring the causal direction of this relationship through experimental means. Study 1 (n = 131) demonstrated that satisfaction with life mediated the relationship between gratitude and materialism. Study 2 (n = 171) showed that that experimentally induced gratitude resulted in higher satisfaction with life and lower materialism in a high gratitude condition compared to an envy (low gratitude) condition. Implications and directions for future research were discussed.”
Lambert, Nathaniel M, et al. "More gratitude, less materialism: The meditating
role of life satisfaction." Journal of Positive Psychology 4.1 (2009):
32-42. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Dec. 2010.
“Materialism, as traditionally conceived, has a contingent side and a necessary side. The contingent side is reflected in the claim that the mental entities in our world are “ultimately physical”. The most popular understanding of what “ultimately physical” means is that mental states (properties and events) are realized by physical states (properties and events). That mental phenomena in this world are ultimately physical is not meant to imply that mental phenomena are physical in all possible worlds. In this sense, materialism is a thesis about our world alone.”
Levine, Joseph, and Kelly Trogdon. "The Modal Status of Materialism."
Philosophical Studies 145.3 (2009): 351-362. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 3 Dec. 2010.
“Any so-called material thing that you want is merely a symbol: you want it not for itself, but because it will content your spirit for the moment.”
Mark Twain
“Oh, what a void there is in things.”
Persius
“What difference does it make how much you have? What you do not have amounts to much more. Epictetus, c 200 AD.”
Seneca
The idea of objects, of materialism, became of interest to me because all I have left of numerous family members is their objects. I have become attached to this objects, yet they do not tell me that much about their owner. Materialism is usually described as a negative thing, as objects become of more importance than life itself, but when you die, your objects outlive you. I really enjoyed the last 3 quotes I added, as they describe a temporary fix with a void. These objects really don't tell me that much, but I know that they were precious, and I am grasping materialism and figuring out what and why these objects were so important, or perhaps creating my own, possibly false, importance.
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