Materialism

Term Paper # 101001

Philosophy

Materialism

This paper discuses the concept of materialism, which has long roots in the Western philosophical tradition.

1,545 words () | 5 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that materialism is based on the concept that matter is the essence of reality and that it is matter that creates the mind. The author differentiates between cultural materialism, which relates to understanding human societies through its material conditions such as geography, and dialectical materialism, which explains human processes such as art. The paper argues that materialists demonstrate that all aspects of the world have material causes; but these causes do not change the fact that decisions are made and responsibilities can be taken. The author concludes that the traditional concept of free will is a holdover from pre-Enlightenment desires for a spiritual component to the world that is uninfluenced by the material world.

Table of Contents:
Varieties of Materialism
Materialism and Free Will

From the Paper:

"There may be, though, a way to reconcile materialism with the concept of free will. Free will requires that human actions are dictated by choices made individually by human beings, that responsibility for any action can be traced back to the individual. But this may be an incorrect epistemological approach, one that prevents free will enthusiasts from recognizing that free will does not have to be at odds with materialism. Superficially, there doesn't seem to be anyway around the matter of being able to find a fundamental material cause for every human decision, once attributed solely to free will. If prime mover status cannot reside with the human mind, then how can free will exist? This is the quandary faced by those who would reconcile these concepts."

Sample of Sources Used:

Carroll, Robert Todd. "Free Will." The Skeptics Dictionary. 2006. 1 Dec. 2006 <http://skepdic.com/freewill.html>.
Pickard, John. "Dialectical Materialism." The ABC of Materialist Dialectics. 1 Dec. 2006 <http://www.marxist.com/Theory/JPickard.html>.
Silber, Kenneth. "Are We Really Just Smart Robots?" Reason Apr. 2005. 1 Dec. 2006 <http://www.reason.com/news/show/36565.html>.
Smith, Karen. "American Materialism." Anthropological Theories. 1 Dec. 2006 <http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/Faculty/murphy/material.htm>.
"What is Cultural Materialism?" Cultural MAterialism: The Center for Studying Cultrual Materialism on the Internet. 1 Dec. 2006 <http://www.cultural-materialism.org/cultural-materialism/whatis.asp>.