"Naturalism asserts, first, that the primary constituents of reality are
material entities. By this I do not mean that only material entities
exist; I am not denying the reality -the real existence - of such things
as hopes, plans, behavior, language, logical inferences, and so on.
What I am asserting, however, is that anything that is real is, in the
last analysis, explicable as a material entity or as a form or function
or action of a material entity...The "ultimate realities," according to
naturalism, are not the alleged objects of the inquiries of theologians;
they are the entities that are the objects of investigation by chemists,
physicists, and other scientists. To put the matter very simply:
materialism is true." (p. 424)
>
>[cut Sir James Jeans quote]
>
> It seems to me that this description coincides pretty well with
> yours. It also seems that the various conclusions that you have
> derived are correct with materialism defined in this way. For
> example, there seems little point for a materialist to speak of
> moral obligations. The argument that materialism cannot be
> falsified seems erroneous though since, according to my understanding,
> the view is no longer scientificaly tenable.
>
I don't think it's erroneous at all. Regardless of what one chooses to
label it, the belief that the natural/material world is all that exists
is still not a conclusion capable of scientific verification but rather,
a philosophical precommitment that one may bring to his/her scientific
inquiry. That was the point I was trying to make.
> So, perhaps some of the "controversy" in this thread arises from
> terminology. Russell has stated that he's a materialist, but I
> kind of doubt that this is what he means by materialism.
Perhaps we should ask Russell to explain what he means by the term.
> Also, materialism and naturalism are clearly not one and the same.
>
>Please see above
>
>[cut..]
>
>
> Brian Harper
> Associate Professor
> Applied Mechanics
> The Ohio State University
>
> "Quantum physicist and Jungian analyst, when dropped from
> a great height, fall at the same rate of speed, their
> descent unaffected by speech or creed" -- David Berlinski
Keith Plummer
Just Little Ol' Me ;-)