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Metaphysics: The Study of the Nature of Existence or Reality I. Materialism : all reality is material/physical; only bodies in motion are real
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Metaphysics: The Study of the Nature of Existence or Reality I Materialism: all reality is material/physical; only bodies in motion are real • Eastern (Charvaka) materialism: since we can know only that which we experience by sense, only that which is sensible/physical can be understood as real. There are no spiritual realities and no afterlife.
Metaphysics: The Study of the Nature of Existence or Reality II • Western materialism: only physical things are real, either as atoms in motion (Democritus) or moving bodies (Hobbes) • In principle, everything is completely predictable (Laplace): there is no real freedom or afterlife
Objections to Materialism • Mental activity (e.g., consciousness) does not have physical properties (e.g., location). Even if mental activity is correlated with physical activity, that does not prove they are identical. • Consciousness can be “of” or “about” things that don’t exist; physical objects lack such intentionality • Sub-atomic particle physics shows how matter itself lacks physical properties