Topics Mind

Question Are there any good, contemporary arguments against materialism?

Accepted:
July 6, 2006

Comments

It depends, of course, upon what you regard as "materialism"--not to mention what you regard as a "good argument." For myself, I think that you might consider that things like relations, sets, patterns, numbers, the self, space and time are not material. You'll also find that much of the controversy about materialism focuses on issues in the philosophy of mind. I'm not sure one can count this as an argument against materialism, but so far as I can tell, reductive materialism hasn't (yet?) succeeded in underming entirely the basis of Descartes's argument that mind is not matter. Here the relevant issue is whether or not mind/mental entities/thoughts/feelings/conciousness possess properties that are adequately explained or defined in terms of matter. If mind/css/etc. possesses properties that have not (yet) been explained or defined in terms of matter, then mind might not be matter. If mind/css/etc. possesses properties that are in fact inconsistent with the properties of matter (for example, behaving according to causal laws), then mind cannot be matter. Controversies related to what philosophers call "qualia," freedom, and reductionism are apposite.

Question Are there any good, contemporary arguments against materialism? Accepted:July 6, 2006

Question Are there any good, contemporary arguments against materialism?

Accepted:
July 6, 2006