materialist

A materialist is a person who subscribes to materialism—the view that matter is fundamental and that all phenomena, including consciousness and mental states, arise from material interactions. In the philosophy of mind, materialism is often equated with physicalism.

Early materialists include the ancient Greek atomists Democritus and Leucippus, and later Epicurus; in the early modern period, Thomas Hobbes argued for a materialist account of mind and society. In the modern era, Baruch Spinoza is sometimes described as a materialist. The 19th century saw Ludwig Feuerbach argue that theology is a projection of human material needs, while Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels developed historical materialism, which explains social and political organization in terms of material economic conditions; dialectical materialism was advanced within Marxist theory.

The term covers metaphysical materialism, scientific/materialist explanation, reductive versus non-reductive materialism, and historical materialism. Some distinguish between materialism and physicalism, though many use them interchangeably.

Critics include idealists and dualists; objections consist of the hard problem of consciousness and the potential for emergent properties, leading some philosophers to argue for non-material explanations or different views such as panpsychism.

In everyday usage, "materialist" can describe someone who places a high value on material possessions and wealth rather than ideals or spirituality.