Talk:Materialism

Missing verb?

"Materialism denies supernaturalism, in that it denies that independent spiritual or divine powers ever account for events, and [MISSING VERB HERE?] that natural forces always explain events..."

As it currently stands, this says that "materialism denies ... that natural forces always explain events." Perhaps the missing verb is "argues" or "holds"? Bruce M. Tindall 04:26, 19 January 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, Bruce. I'll fix. This is definitely a work in progress, learning as I go. Anthony.Sebastian 21:35, 19 January 2011 (UTC)

disambiguation?

Should this article be disambiguated? When I saw the title in recent changes, my first thought was "preoccupation with material things" as in the adjective "materialistic". I'd be willing to write at least a brief introduction to materialism in this other sense, but I don't think the adjective is an appropriate title. Any ideas on how to distinguish? Materialism (philosophy) and Consumer materialism, maybe? Or would it be sufficient to leave this article alone and place a brief disambiguation at the top suggesting Consumerism for people who find themselves in the wrong place?--Joe Quick 17:21, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

For that matter, "consumerism" may need disambiguation, too, because it is also used to mean "the promotion of the consumer's interests" (Merriam-Webster), or to describe the movement that has resulted in the requirement of disclosure of more information on product labels and in advertisements, for instance. Bruce M. Tindall 18:46, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

That's true. Maybe I'll just invent some new words and then tell myself that everyone else is crazy when they don't understand. --Joe Quick 20:24, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

Actually, the problem is even larger, which didn't come to mind until I had already started the article. There are specific topics under christian materialism; cultural materialism; dialectical materialism; economic materialism, etc. I think "materialism" by itself usually refers to what this article is about, viz., scientific AND philosophical materialism. Not sure how to handle the 'disambiguation'. In related articles subpage? Anthony.Sebastian 03:27, 21 January 2011 (UTC)

Past tense?

You really need more evidence than this that materialism is dead. An assertion by one phiolosopher is just her personal philosophy; it tells you nothing of what other philosophers believe. And assertions by scientists are even more useless. Peter Jackson 16:59, 21 January 2011 (UTC)