Is Physicalism True?

If you think physicalism is bad or evil, you should probably read "Is Physicalism Bad?" before reading this page.

To answer "Is physicalism true?" we need to first know what it means for something to be true (for that, see this page), then we need to know what physicalism is, then lastly we can finally set out to answer the question "Is physicalism true?".

What is Physicalism?
Physicalism basically means that everything in this universe, everything we can experience, is physical.

So what does it mean for a thing to be physical?

You could say it means that everything about that thing can be described by mathematical equations. Equations of physics.

You can also contrast with "the supernatural", which wouldn't be physical, it would involve entities and powers that lacked physical form or mechanism.

If you want to get more technical you could try something like Richard Carrier's most precise description so far on the distinction between the natural (physical) and the supernatural:


 * "It comes down to information processing:


 * (1)  if anything behaves non-randomly, why?
 * (2)  is it because of an assembly of individual parts each of which is the simplest possible act of processing (none logically simpler being possible)?
 * (3)  or are there steps of processing being skipped–they have no mechanism, they just magically happen with no reductive cause?


 * A yes to 2 is naturalism. A yes to 3 is supernaturalism.


 * That’s the ontological distinction. Most obvious when comparing macro systems (the ontological difference between Harry Potter and Forbidden Planet is undeniable)."

Notice here also "reductionism", which basically finds the more "fine-grained"/precise and complete descriptions of things to be simpler and all the same kinds of things. Supernatural/non-physical things would lack this, in the way Carrier says above.

Is physicalism True?
To figure this out, remember it's important to understand what "true" means and how to figure out what is true.

In a basic sense, the concepts of reductionism and mechanism, physics equations and such have been so successful in explaining things (and we have no confirmed cases of any other kinds of explanations) that it's natural to think "hey maybe EVERYTHING can be explained this way". If that's all we ever find, and you want to place a bet on what you'll find next, well it seems like the best bet, by FAR.

Alternatives:

Pure Supernaturalism
A few weirder Christians and such here.

Dualism
Lots of Christians and such here.

Idealism
Some proponents:
 * Bernardo Kastrup
 * Rupert Sheldrake
 * Deepak Chopra

See also:

 * Richard Carrier's Defending Naturalism as a Worldview: A Rebuttal to Michael Rea's World Without Design (2003)
 * Sense and Goodness Without God
 * Reality