Extensive Definition
Immaterialism is the theory propounded by
Bishop
Berkeley in the 18th century
which holds that there are no material objects, only minds and
ideas in those minds. Berkeley summarized his theory with the motto
"esse est percipi" ("To be is to be perceived"), but went on to
elaborate it with God as the source of
consensus
reality and other particulars.
Today this theory is considered the first
formulation of subjective
idealism, a branch of idealism and a form of phenomenalism. Since it is
not falsifiable,
it is a theory not of science but of metaphysics and other
philosophical methods. The idea that objects exist independently of
mind is not testable or provable by the scientific
method, because all objects we would wish to examine must enter
our awareness in order to experiment on them. Nonetheless, a number
of well established scientific experiments & principles (eg.
Uncertainty
principle, EPR
experiment,
Wheeler's delayed choice experiment) imply or suggest that the
notion of a material reality, wholly apart from any awareness of
it, may be untenable.
Earlier ideas about the immaterial and the
incorporeal go back
to Plato,
Augustine,
Plotinus,
and many other ancient and medieval philosophers. Plato and Socrates made many
references to eternal forms that are immaterial or
incorporeal. A
classic philosophical problem is whether or not there is a First
Cause or Prime Mover
prior to the material universe. Aristotle's
notion of a formal cause
is also partially related to Plato's idea of eternal Forms. Plato's theory
of the divided line
also mentions the intelligible method and the
dialectical method
that may lead one to The Good, or to
what truly exists eternally, without change. The Good, unlike
changing physical bodies, is claimed to exist in some incorporeal
or immaterial state. Many philosophers have contrasted the notions
of being and becoming in a similar kind of
way.
Christian
theology also refers to
the incorporeal and immaterial in reference to God, the Holy Spirit,
angels, and demons. This is in contrast to
the corporeal human
body of the physical realm that decays over time. The incorporeal
is unchanging, whereas the corporeal is ever changing. Jesus was resurrected in a mysterious
way that suggests some kind of incorporeal soul that can exist independently
of the physical body. The ghostly appearance of various saints, prophets, and other supernatural beings imply
some kind of immaterial realm. Some supernatural miracles can also imply the
existence of the immaterial realm.
Bishop Berkeley's assessment of immaterialism was
criticized by Samuel
Johnson, as recorded by James
Boswell. Responding to the theory, Dr. Johnson exclaimed "I
refute it thus!" while kicking his shoe into a rock until his foot
bled. This episode is cited by Stephen
Dedalus in James Joyce's
"Ulysses,"
chapter three. Reflecting on the "ineluctable modality of the
visible," Dedalus conjures the image of Johnson's refutation,
before engaging in his own refutation - closing his eyes and
feeling the rocks under his feet while walking along the
beach.
See also
immaterialism in French: Immatérialisme
immaterialism in Russian:
Имматериализм