Epistemology/Metaphysics Paper
“Materialism”
Introduction
If one was to ask how all physical things or beings within the world came into existence, the question might be simple for a Christian to answer by saying that a spiritual being as God created man, all natural matter and the earth; however, atheists on the other hand, would have to disagree.
In this paper, the writer will describe the concept of materialism and explain whom the main contributor(s) of materialism were. An explanation on the evolution of how materialism grew out of the original field of metaphysics as well as two real-life applications of materialism will follow in the latter portion of the paper.
Materialism
In philosophy, materialism supports the connotation that existence makes logical sense solely in material terms without consciousness or spirit. Individuals such as atheists, may just as well hold to this belief and see the world merely as a huge matter held together by pieces of material that function in subjection to naturalistic laws. (All About Philosophy, 2008)
As Moore-Bruder (2005) states, materialism “holds that only the physical exists” (p. 101). As such, the conscious mind is in some sense are manifestations of an underlying physical reality. In the writer’s view, the concept of materialism is that physical matter is the only reality and rejects any conclusions, which relies on existence of spiritual or non-physical reality.
Materialism connects with science and atheists in that modern science includes the study of matter within the world and theorizing about material events and causes of those events while discarding any ideas of the supernatural. On the other hand, since materialism often relates to atheism, unless one believes in a god, atheists believe in the non-existence of any independent source contributing to the workings of energy and matter. (Cline, 2008)
Contributor of Materialism
During the 17th century, an English philosopher by the...