Talk:Materialism

Missing verb?

"Materialism denies supernaturalism, in that it denies that independent spiritual or divine powers ever account for events, and [MISSING VERB HERE?] that natural forces always explain events..."

As it currently stands, this says that "materialism denies ... that natural forces always explain events." Perhaps the missing verb is "argues" or "holds"? Bruce M. Tindall 04:26, 19 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, Bruce. I'll fix. This is definitely a work in progress, learning as I go. Anthony.Sebastian 21:35, 19 January 2011 (UTC)

disambiguation?

Should this article be disambiguated? When I saw the title in recent changes, my first thought was "preoccupation with material things" as in the adjective "materialistic". I'd be willing to write at least a brief introduction to materialism in this other sense, but I don't think the adjective is an appropriate title. Any ideas on how to distinguish? Materialism (philosophy) and Consumer materialism, maybe? Or would it be sufficient to leave this article alone and place a brief disambiguation at the top suggesting Consumerism for people who find themselves in the wrong place?--Joe Quick 17:21, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

For that matter, "consumerism" may need disambiguation, too, because it is also used to mean "the promotion of the consumer's interests" (Merriam-Webster), or to describe the movement that has resulted in the requirement of disclosure of more information on product labels and in advertisements, for instance. Bruce M. Tindall 18:46, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

That's true. Maybe I'll just invent some new words and then tell myself that everyone else is crazy when they don't understand. --Joe Quick 20:24, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Actually, the problem is even larger, which didn't come to mind until I had already started the article. There are specific topics under christian materialism; cultural materialism; dialectical materialism; economic materialism, etc. I think "materialism" by itself usually refers to what this article is about, viz., scientific AND philosophical materialism. Not sure how to handle the 'disambiguation'. In related articles subpage? Anthony.Sebastian 03:27, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

Past tense?

You really need more evidence than this that materialism is dead. An assertion by one phiolosopher is just her personal philosophy; it tells you nothing of what other philosophers believe. And assertions by scientists are even more useless. Peter Jackson 16:59, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

I agree with you, Peter, except for you comment that "assertions scientists are even more useless".

In regard to the latter, I offer the opening of The Grand Design", 2010, by preeminent scientists, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow:

WE EACH EXIST FOR BUT A SHORT TIME, and in that time explore but a small part of the whole universe. But humans are a curious species. We wonder, we seek answers. Living in this vast world that is by turns kind and cruel, and gazing at the immense heavens above, people have always asked a multitude of questions: How can we understand the world in which we find ourselves? How does the universe behave? What is the nature of reality? Where did all this come from? Did the universe need a creator? Most of us do not spend most of our time worrying about these questions, but almost all of us worry about them some of the time.

Traditionally these are questions for philosophy, but philosophy is dead. Philosophy has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics. Scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge. The purpose ofthis book is to give the answers that are suggested by recent discoveries and theoretical advances. They lead us to a new picture of the universe and our place in it that is very different from the traditional one, and different even from the picture we might have painted just a decade or two ago. Still, the first sketches of the new concept can be traced back almost a century.

According to the traditional conception of the universe, objects move on well-defined paths and have definite histories. We can specify their precise position at each moment in time. Although that account is successful enough for everyday purposes, it was found in the 1920s that this "classical" picture could not account for the seemingly bizarre behavior observed on the atomic and subatomic scales of existence. Instead it was necessary to adopt a different framework, called quantum physics. Quantum theories have turned out to be remarkably accurate at predicting events on those scales, while also reproducing the predictions of the old classical theories when applied to the macroscopic world of daily life. But quantum and classical physics are based on very different conceptions of physical reality.

They continue this theme, which ultimately again proclaims dead the deterministic mechanistic scientific materialism of the matter-based clockwork universe. I find it difficult to ignore the assertions of Stephen Hawking.

In regard to your first point, I do plan to bring in the views of other philosophers, even going back to the 19th century.

Thanks for your interest and comments. I appreciate them. Anthony.Sebastian 19:34, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

I meant useless as evidence of what philosophers think. Peter Jackson 11:49, 22 January 2011 (UTC)

Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 1998, volume 6, page 172 has a heading "Recent materialism". Macmillan Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd ed, 2006, volume 6, page 13, has heading "Contemporary materialism". Unless someone can prove that it's suddenly vanished in the last few years the past tense and other non-neutral sapects must be changed. Peter Jackson 11:24, 24 January 2011 (UTC)