Who is a materialist? Before understanding this concept, one must have an idea of the definition of materialism. This is primarily a form of philosophical monism, which states that matter is the main substance in nature, and that everything (including consciousness and the psyche) is the result of material interactions. Accordingly, a materialist is an adherent of the idea of materialism or its follower.
Relationship with other philosophical worldviews
Materialism is closely related to physicalism. This philosophical direction describes a world in which everything that exists is justified by physics and its laws. Philosophical physicalism has evolved far from materialism because its dogmas are associated with physical discoveries.
Materialism is limited to the exact sciences, in its argumentation there is only space of time, physical energy, dark matter, force, and other general hypothetical things. Thus, based on the common goal of these areas, we can say that they are similar, but do not use these words as synonyms.
There are two main categories of philosophical movements.
A materialist is a follower of a philosophical worldview belonging to the class of monistic ontology, the principles of which are contrary to idealism, dualism and pluralism. We can safely say that materialism is a complete inversion of idealism. Materialists claim that matter is primary, and consciousness is secondary. And idealists claim the exact opposite.
Despite the large number of philosophical schools and the subtle nuances between them, the main categories of philosophy are still materialism and idealism. From these groups come all the other varieties of worldview, which weave outside dogma around the main idea.
There is also an independent philosophical theory - this is dualism: the opinion that matter and consciousness develop in independent instances parallel to each other.
Material Philosophers
In the 19th century, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels expanded the concept of materialism by developing a new philosophical trend of “dialectical materialism” (the 40s). However, they did not use such a term. This name was first introduced by Joseph Ditzgen in 1887.
The brief essence of the teachings of Marx and Engels is that the foundation of the world is matter, and consciousness is its property. The movement and development of the world, as dialectical materialism says , are the results of spiritual contradictions. The target laws of “diamat” (in abbreviated form) are the integrity and confrontation of opposites, the sublimation of quantitative changes into qualitative ones, the law of “negation of negation”.
The critically revised idealistic Hegelian dialectic and philosophical teachings on Feuerbach's materialism are considered the theoretical source of diamate.
Famous Russian materialists are:
- Bartholomew Zaitsev (years of life 1842-1878) is a famous literary critic and nihilist of the 60s of the 19th century.
- Nikolai Kareev (years of life 1850-1931) - sociologist, philosopher. His most famous works are: “The Philosophy of Cultural and Social History of the New Age,” “Old and New Studies on Economic Materialism”.
- Matvey Troitsky (years of life 1835-1899) - a representative of empirical philosophy in Russia. Founder of the first Moscow Psychological Society. The most noteworthy work describing the foundations of materialism is the Essay on Readings on the Metaphysics of Professor Lotze.
- Dmitry Pisarev (years of life 1840-1868) is a famous revolutionary democrat, publicist and literary critic. One of the most prominent representatives of the "sixties."
- Nikolai Dobrolyubov (years of life 1836-1861) is a revolutionary democrat, poet and publicist. A follower of materialism, empiricism, and rational egoism. He argued that any a priori forces are a myth, and the primacy of the universe is matter.
What is a material accountant?
Have you ever heard such a profession? Who is that? This is a specialist accountant with the highest qualification in material accounting of the office at the enterprise. This shot is responsible for those areas of accounting work for which it is assigned as a responsible person.
The name of this profession is in no way connected with philosophical teachings and directions. “Materialist accountant” is simply a common name for office workers, whose responsibilities may include various components depending on the scope of the enterprise.