immaterialist
Definition
Noun: A person who adheres to the philosophical doctrine of immaterialism, which holds that matter does not exist independently of the mind and that only mental phenomena or perceptions are real.
Usage Examples
- (A follower of Berkeley's idealism.)
- (A proponent of the view that matter is not fundamental.)
- (A participant in a philosophical dispute about the nature of reality.)
Advanced Usage
"Immaterialist philosophy": the system of thought denying the existence of matter as a substance.
- Immaterialist philosophy challenges the common-sense view that objects exist independently of being perceived. (A philosophical approach rejecting material substance.)
"A committed immaterialist": someone who firmly adheres to immaterialist principles.
- Even when faced with empirical evidence, the committed immaterialist reinterpreted it as mental constructs. (A person steadfast in their idealist stance.)
Variants and Related Words
Immaterialism (n): the philosophical doctrine that matter does not exist.
- Immaterialism is often associated with Berkeley's subjective idealism. (The belief that reality is mental.)
Immaterial (adj): not consisting of matter; of no importance.
- The immaterial nature of the soul is a key tenet of his theory. (Incorporeal; not physical.)
Synonyms
- Idealist: a person who believes in idealism, the theory that reality is fundamentally mental.
- Mentalist: a philosopher who holds that only mental states are real.
- Berkeleyan: a follower of George Berkeley's philosophy.
Related Idioms
- "To see the world through immaterialist eyes": to interpret reality as a product of perception.
- He saw the world through immaterialist eyes, doubting the solidity of the table before him. (To adopt a perspective where matter is an illusion.)
Antonyms
- Materialist: a person who believes that matter is the fundamental substance in nature.
- Physicalist: someone who holds that everything is physical or reducible to physical laws.