What does materialist mean?

Definitions for materialist
ma·te·ri·al·ist

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word materialist.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. materialistnoun

    someone with great regard for material possessions

  2. materialistnoun

    someone who thinks that nothing exists but physical matter

GCIDE

  1. Materialistnoun

    One who denies the existence of spiritual substances or agents, and maintains that spiritual phenomena, so called, are the result of some peculiar organization of matter. A believer in philosophical materialism.

Wiktionary

  1. materialistnoun

    Someone who is materialistic.

  2. materialistnoun

    A follower or proponent of philosophical materialism.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Materialistnoun

    One who denies spiritual substances.

    Etymology: from material.

    He was bent upon making Memmius a materialist. Dryd.

Wikipedia

  1. materialist

    Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialism, mind and consciousness are by-products or epiphenomena of material processes (such as the biochemistry of the human brain and nervous system), without which they cannot exist. This concept directly contrasts with idealism, where mind and consciousness are first-order realities to which matter is dependent while material interactions are secondary. Materialism is closely related to physicalism—the view that all that exists is ultimately physical. Philosophical physicalism has evolved from materialism with the theories of the physical sciences to incorporate more sophisticated notions of physicality than mere ordinary matter (e.g. spacetime, physical energies and forces, and dark matter). Thus, the term physicalism is preferred over materialism by some, while others use the terms as if they were synonymous. Philosophies traditionally opposed or largely historically unreconciled to the scientific theories of materialism or physicalism include idealism, pluralism, dualism, panpsychism, and other forms of monism. From classical antiquity, Epicureanism is an ancient philosophy of materialism as a major forerunner to modern science. Epicurus, although ostensibly a deist, affirmed both the literal existence of the Greek gods in either some type of celestial "heaven" cognate from which they ruled the Universe (if not on a literal Mount Olympus) and his philosophy promulgated atomism, while Platonism taught roughly the opposite, despite Plato's teaching of Zeus as God.

ChatGPT

  1. materialist

    A materialist is an individual or philosophical perspective that holds the belief that physical matter is the fundamental or only reality, and that all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. In other words, materialists believe that anything that exists is either made up of physical matter or can be explained by the properties of physical matter. In a broader socio-economic context, a materialist may also refer to a person who considers material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual values.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Materialistnoun

    one who denies the existence of spiritual substances or agents, and maintains that spiritual phenomena, so called, are the result of some peculiar organization of matter

  2. Materialistnoun

    one who holds to the existence of matter, as distinguished from the idealist, who denies it

  3. Etymology: [Cf. F. matrialiste.]

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of materialist in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of materialist in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of materialist in a Sentence

  1. John Berger:

    The human imagination... has great difficulty in living strictly within the confines of a materialist practice or philosophy. It dreams, like a dog in its basket, of hares in the open.

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"materialist." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Oct. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/materialist>.

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