Definition

1. Noun:
   • A philosophical theory: The doctrine that all that exists is ultimately physical or dependent upon physical entities. It asserts that matter and its properties constitute the only reality, and all phenomena, including mental states and consciousness, are reducible to or supervene upon physical processes.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Physicalism is a dominant position in contemporary philosophy of mind.
  • The scientist's argument was rooted in a strong belief in physicalism.
  • Debates between physicalism and dualism have persisted for centuries.

Advanced Usage

• Reductive Physicalism: A form of physicalism asserting that mental states are identical to specific brain states or physical processes.
  • Reductive physicalism attempts to directly map psychological concepts to neurobiological ones.
• Non-Reductive Physicalism: A form of physicalism that maintains mental states are dependent on physical states but cannot be fully reduced to them, often invoking the concept of supervenience.
  • His thesis defended a version of non-reductive physicalism based on supervenience.

Variants and Related Words

• Physicalist (noun): An adherent of physicalism.
  • She is a committed physicalist.
• Physicalistic (adjective): Relating to or characteristic of physicalism.
  • The argument took a physicalistic turn.

Synonyms

• Materialism: Often used interchangeably in philosophical contexts to denote the theory that physical matter is the fundamental substance of reality.
• Monism (of the physical kind): The metaphysical view that there is only one kind of substance, which is physical.

Related Phrases and Concepts

• The Mind-Body Problem: The central issue that physicalism seeks to address, concerning the relationship between mental phenomena and physical states.
  • Physicalism is one proposed solution to the mind-body problem.
• Supervenience: A dependency relation often used by physicalists to describe how mental properties depend on physical properties without being strictly identical to them.
  • He explained consciousness through the supervenience of the mental on the physical.

Noun

1. (philosophy) the philosophical theory that matter is the only reality