Materialism
What is Materialism?
Materialism, in philosophy, posits that reality is entirely composed of matter. According to this perspective, everything that exists is physical, and all processes, including mental states and consciousness, arise from material interactions.
The Basic Idea
What do you think of when you hear that someone is “materialistic”? Perhaps you visualize them spending all their time in a busy mall, swiping multiple credit cards, and carrying bags of clothes and accessories. Maybe it’s all to the soundtrack of Madonna’s “Material Girl”. Today, the colloquial definition of materialism means owning plenty of expensive items and valuing these over things non-material things, like an experience or activity. But this isn’t how the idea started out.
While extreme consumption may be what we associate with materialism today, the idea of materialism has a long and dynamic philosophical history, which began over 2000 years ago in the first millennium BCE. Materialism, as a philosophical theory, can be defined by two claims:
- Material matter is the only thing in our reality that truly exists;
- Nothing else exists apart from material matter.1
In other words, anything that actually exists can only be made up of material matter.
Materialism is the philosophy of the subject who forgets to take into account himself.
–Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher
About the Author
Adrienne Fu
Adrienne Fu is a student at McGill University studying Economics, Computer Science, and Psychology. She is passionate about behavioural economics, particularly its intersection with consumer decision-making and UX Design. Outside of the (virtual) office, she enjoys film photography, reading, and taking care of her (many) plants.
