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Monism is the metaphysical view that all of reality is fundamentally one and unified, rather than being composed of multiple, distinct substances or kinds of stuff. There are several types of monism, including idealistic monism which holds that only the mind exists, materialistic monism which holds that only matter exists, and neutral monism which posits an unknown substrate that underlies both the mental and physical. Monism is contrasted with dualism and pluralism, which see reality as composed of two or many distinct substances or kinds of stuff, respectively.

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82 views2 pages

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Monism is the metaphysical view that all of reality is fundamentally one and unified, rather than being composed of multiple, distinct substances or kinds of stuff. There are several types of monism, including idealistic monism which holds that only the mind exists, materialistic monism which holds that only matter exists, and neutral monism which posits an unknown substrate that underlies both the mental and physical. Monism is contrasted with dualism and pluralism, which see reality as composed of two or many distinct substances or kinds of stuff, respectively.

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Introduction
Monism is the metaphysical and theological view that all is one, that there are no fundamental
divisions, and that a unified set of laws underlie all of nature. The universe, at the deepest level of
analysis, is then one thing or composed of one fundamental kind of stuff. It sets itself in contrast to
Dualism, which holds that ultimately there are two kinds of substance, and from Pluralism, which holds
that ultimately there are many kinds of substance.

It is based on the concept of the monad (derived from the Greek "monos" meaning "single" and "without
division"). Various Pre-Socratic Philosophers described reality as being monistic, and devised a variety
of explanations for the basis of this reality: Thales: Water; Anaximander: Apeiron (meaning "the
undefined infinite"); Anaximenes: Air; Heraclitus: Fire; Parmenides: One (an unmoving perfect sphere,
unchanging and undivided).

Monism is used in a variety of contexts, (within Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics, Philosophy of Mind,
etc), but the underlying concept is always that of "oneness". Wherever Dualism distinguishes between
body and soul, matter and spirit, object and subject, matter and force, Monism denies such a distinction
or merges both in a higher unity.

The term "monism" itself is relatively recent, first used by the 18th Century German philosopher
Christian von Wolff (1679 - 1754) to designate types of philosophical thought in which the attempt was
made to eliminate the dichotomy of body and mind (see the section on Philosophy of Mind for more
details).

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Types of Monism
Monism is sometimes split into three or more basic types:

Idealistic Monism: (also see the section on Idealism)


This doctrine (also called Mentalistic Monism) holds that the mind is all that exists (i.e. the only
existing substance is mental), and that the external world is either mental itself, or an illusion
created by the mind. Thus, there is but one reality, immutable and eternal, which some (including
the ancient Hindu philosophers) have termed God (Idealistic-Spiritual Monism), while others,
such as the Pre-Socratic philosophers like Parmenides, were content to label as Being or "the
One". This type of Idealistic Monism has recurred throughout history, from the Neoplatonists, to
Gottfried Leibniz and George Berkeley, to the German Idealism of G. W. F. Hegel.
Materialistic Monism (also see the sections on Materialism and Physicalism):
This doctrine holds that there is but one reality, matter, whether it be an agglomerate of atoms,
a primitive, world-forming substance, or the so-called cosmic nebula out of which the world
evolved. It holds that only the physical is real, and that the mental can be reduced to the
physical. Members of this camp include Thomas Hobbes and Bertrand Russell, and it has been
the dominant doctrine in the 20th Century.
There are two main types:
o Reductive Physicalism, which asserts that all mental states and properties will
eventually be explained by scientific accounts of physiological processes and states,
has been the most popular form during the 20th Century. There are three main types:
Behaviourism, which holds that mental states are just descriptions of
observable behaviour.
Type Identity Theory, which holds that specific mental states are identical to
specific physical internal states of the brain.
Functionalism, which holds that mental states can be characterized in terms of
non-mental functional properties.
o Non-Reductive Physicalism, which argues that, although the brain is all there is to the
mind, the predicates and vocabulary used in mental descriptions and explanations
cannot be reduced to the language and lower-level explanations of physical science.
Thus, mental states supervene (depend) on physical states, and there can be no change
in the mental without some change in the physical, but they are not reducible to them.
There are three main types:
Anomalous Monism, which states that mental events are identical with physical
events, but that the mental is anomalous i.e. these mental events are perfectly
real, and identical with (some) physical matter, but not regulated by strict
physical laws. Therefore, all mental things are physical, but not all physical
things are necessarily mental. This doctrine was first proposed by Donald
Davidson in the 1970s.
Emergentism, which involves a layered view of nature, with the layers arranged
in terms of increasing complexity, each corresponding to its own special
science.
Eliminativism (or Eliminative Materialism), which holds that people's common-
sense understanding of the mind ("folk psychology") is hopelessley flawed,
and will eventually be replaced (eliminated) by an alternative, usually taken to
be neuroscience.
Neutral Monism:
This dual-aspect theory maintains that existence consists of one kind of primal substance
(hence monism), which in itself is neither mental nor physical, but is capable of mental and
physical aspects or attributes. Thus, there is some other, neutral substance (variously labelled
as Substance, Nature or God), and that both matter and mind are properties of this other
unknown substance. Such a position was adopted by Baruch Spinoza and also by Bertrand
Russell for a time.
Reflexive Monism:
This is a dual-aspect theory (in the tradition of Spinoza) which argues that the one basic stuff of
which the universe is composed has the potential to manifest both physically and as conscious
experience (such as human beings) which can then have a view of both the rest of the universe
and themselves (hence "reflexive"). It is a contemporary take on a concept which has been
present in human thought for millennia, such as in later Vedic writings like the "Upanishads" and
some beliefs from ancient Egypt.

However, a different analysis is sometimes used:

Substantial Monism ("one thing"):


This is the view that there is only one substance and that all diversity is ultimately unreal. This is
essentially the view maintained by Spinoza.
Attributive Monism ("one category"):
This is the view that there is one kind of thing but many different individual things in this
category, and thus reality is ultimately composed of many things rather than one. Materialistic
Monism and Idealistic Monism are therefore different forms of Attributive Monism.

Absolute Monism ("one being"):


This is the view that there is holds that there is only one substance and only one being, as in the ancient
Hindu philosophy of Advaita Vedanta.

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