Materialism
MATERIALISM is a tradition of thought in which all things that exist are made up of matter in some way. To update this theory it might be restated that all existence is made up of energy in some form. Matter is a form of energy.
All things that exist are made of energy, atoms, molecules, forces and other entities that consist of energy. There are no non-physical or non-material existents.
Catholic Encyclopedia
READ: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10041b.htm
Philosophical Materialism
by Richard C. Vitzthum
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/richard_vitzthum/materialism.html
In this view all human behavior is explained in physical terms. There are no minds separate from the brain. There are no souls or spirits and no god.
To explain human behavior there is evolutionary biology and sociobiology, which attempt to explain all behavior in physical terms. Humans are conditioned to respond to stimuli. They have basic physical drives and they have the evolutionary drive to continue their species. This explains mating behavior and even the actions of some humans to save the lives of other humans, even at their own expense. It is all about continue the genetic inheritance, the chromosomal patterns. (More on this in the chapter on the MIND BODY Problem.)
For the thought of John Dewey, an American Pragmatist, see this site for a description of his version of materialism: Naturalism- empirical naturalism
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/d/dewey.htm
NATURALISM
For an overview of a variety of Metaphysical positions that do not accept as real anything that is beyond nature, READ: Dallas Roark http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/SocialSciences/ppecorino/roark-textbook/Chapter-9.htm
Proceed to the next section by clicking here:
Next Section