noun
materialism
The philosophical view that only matter and its processes exist.
The philosopher defends materialism as an account of reality.
Etymology
Material concerns physical matter, and -ism forms the name of a doctrine. Materialism identifies the view that matter and its processes account for everything that exists.
More examples
- The seminar compares materialism with idealism.
- Her essay asks how materialism explains mental experience.
- The text presents materialism as a view about what exists.
Forms
materialism
Similar words
- physicalism
- A closely related philosophical view framed in terms of the physical world.
- naturalism
- Naturalism excludes supernatural explanations broadly; materialism specifically holds that reality consists of matter and its processes.