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Single Idea 8580

[filed under theme 7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 6. Physicalism ]

Full Idea

Final definition of 'Materialism': Among worlds where no natural properties alien to our world are instantiated, no two differ without differing physically; and two such worlds that are exactly alike physically are duplicates.

Gist of Idea

Materialism is (roughly) that two worlds cannot differ without differing physically

Source

David Lewis (New work for a theory of universals [1983], 'Min Mat')

Book Ref

'Properties', ed/tr. Mellor,D.H. /Oliver,A [OUP 1997], p.212

A Reaction

This would presumably allow for an anomalous monist/property dualist view of mind, but not full dualism. But if there are no psychophysical laws, what stops the mental changing while the physical remains the same?

The 20 ideas with the same theme [reality consists entirely of material things in space-time]:

1641 Some alarming thinkers think that only things which you can touch exist [Plato]
11256 Materialists cannot explain change [Aristotle, by Politis]
14048 Astronomical movements are blessed, but they don't need the help of the gods [Epicurus]
7559 Every part of the universe is body, and non-body is not part of it [Hobbes]
5287 Philosophical problems are resolved into empirical facts [Marx/Engels]
18438 Every worldly event, without exception, is a redistribution of microphysical states [Quine]
10243 My ontology is quarks etc., classes of such things, classes of such classes etc. [Quine]
3454 Reality is entirely particles in force fields [Searle]
3437 'Physical facts determine all the facts' is the physicalists' slogan [Kim]
15318 Gravitational and electrical fields are, for a materialist, distressingly empty of material [Harré/Madden]
8580 Materialism is (roughly) that two worlds cannot differ without differing physically [Lewis]
16054 Physicalism needs more than global supervenience on the physical [Horgan,T]
16055 Materialism requires that physics be causally complete [Horgan,T]
7855 Some suggest that materialism is empty, because 'physical' cannot be properly characterized [Mellor/Crane, by Papineau]
6504 For physicalists, the only relations are spatial, temporal and causal [Robinson,H]
16048 Physicalism says in any two physically indiscernible worlds the positive facts are the same [Chalmers, by Bennett,K]
16060 Nonreductive materialism says upper 'levels' depend on lower, but don't 'reduce' [Lynch/Glasgow]
16064 The hallmark of physicalism is that each causal power has a base causal power under it [Lynch/Glasgow]
14909 Physicalism is 'part-whole' (all parts are physical), or 'supervenience/levels' (dependence on physical) [Ladyman/Ross]
16049 Definitions of physicalism are compatible with a necessary God [Bennett,K]