The Marxist Project
The Marxist ProjectIn this episode of the Fundamentals of Marx series, we’re going to briefly go over the difference between idealism and materialism. This distinction is important because it is frequently references by many of the early thinkers in the Marxist school of thought. Most of all, materialism is central to Marxist theory overall, so getting to know it’s basic principles is worth our time!
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22 Comments
@KobeBean33000
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMHare Krishna
@Omicronthewiperofyouknow...
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMThis seems strange. Why do people call depression to be a mental disease if all there is is material? It should be purely a physical disease. Cause the mind is an illusion.
@mcbergtimbztationz
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMIdealism is very genuine, and more mature then materialism.
@Xur______
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMIs arguing for the existence of "human nature" necessarily idealist? From what I've seen, arguments for human nature often reference biology, which is part of the material. It seems you are conflating materialism with the "nurture" side of the "nature vs nurture" debate from my POV. Curious to hear your thoughts.
@refraf8030
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMSo my definition of both
Materialism- everything in the world is made up of matter, consciousness included.
Idealism- our thoughts and beliefs are our reality. Which makes it independent of the material world.
@blackmetalreki
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMAlgorithm bump
@thieph
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMMaterialism is a total abortion of any humanity. The most disgusting philosophy
@prpUniverse
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMThank you so much for creating this content.
@kittenmastermind660
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMI really don't see how idealism and materialism is exclusive to each other.
@arosalesmusic
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMAnalytic Idealism, as articulated by Dr. Bernardo Kastrup, appears to present a more parsimonious and coherent framework for understanding reality compared to Physicalism or Materialism. This argument can be distilled into several key points that emphasize the shortcomings of Physicalism, particularly in light of the hard problem of consciousness, while simultaneously highlighting the explanatory power and coherence of Analytic Idealism.
1. Primacy of Experience
Kastrup posits that all we truly possess is our conscious experience, which forms the basis of knowledge regarding the external world. He asserts that "experience is primary; it is all there is". In contrast, Physicalism posits that conscious experiences are byproducts of physical processes in the brain, which remains largely unsubstantiated when accounting for the subjective quality of experiences5.
2. The Hard Problem of Consciousness
One of the central critiques against Physicalism is its inability to adequately address the hard problem of consciousness—how subjective experiences arise from brain activity. Kastrup points out that attempts by Physicalists to explain this connection are fundamentally insufficient and suggest a misunderstanding of the relationship between mind and matter4. In contrast, Analytic Idealism bypasses this problem by asserting that reality is fundamentally mental. Kastrup contends that instead of the brain producing consciousness, consciousness is the primary reality, and brains are merely manifestations of this more fundamental consciousness.
3. Parsimony and Ockham's Razor
Kastrup utilizes the principle of Occam's Razor to argue that Physicalism is unnecessarily complex, as it combines two ontological categories—mind and matter—while his framework posits that only one (mind) is necessary. This approach aligns with the principle of parsimony, suggesting that the simplest explanation—namely, that all is consciousness—is preferred when both theories can explain the same facts.
4. Critique of Materialism
Dr. Kastrup can draw upon the ancient philosophical critiques of materialism that view it as an inadequate and increasingly irrelevant explanation for phenomena observed in nature. He argues that "materialism has led to a culture marked by dehumanization and mechanization, stripping away the profound nature of consciousness". Moreover, he suggests that the perception of a purely physical world fails to explain the richness of human experience or the phenomena related to consciousness, like those observed in psychedelic experiences that contradict the assumptions of increased brain function leading to enriched experiences1.
5. Aggregation of Experiences
Kastrup's model of a "universal consciousness" with dissociated alters (akin to various personalities in an individual with Dissociative Identity Disorder) serves to explain the diversity of experiences without the convolutions found in dualistic or physicalist frameworks. Each individual perceives only a fragment of this universal consciousness while having access to the shared experiential world. This conceptual model provides clarity on how subjective experiences emerge and allows for the integration of varying perspectives.
6. Alignment with Observational Evidence
Analytic Idealism not only offers a coherent philosophical framework but also finds its validation through empirical observations, such as those from neuroscience that show altered brain states (e.g., during psychedelic experiences) producing enriched conscious states5. Kastrup argues that these correlations can be better explained when we accept consciousness as the fundamental basis and not as a byproduct of brain activity.
Conclusion
In summary, Analytic Idealism, as developed by Dr. Bernardo Kastrup, provides a more parsimonious and coherent model for understanding reality than Physicalism or Materialism. It asserts the primacy of consciousness, directly addresses the hard problem of consciousness, and utilizes principled parsimony to forge a compelling argument against dualistic and materialist explanations of experience. The framework presents not only a robust philosophical alternative but also aligns with emergent empirical findings in neuroscience, illustrating a need to rethink the foundational ontological assumptions underlying our understanding of consciousness and reality.
@Fire2000Ml
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMIdealism doesn't say that nothing exists outside of the mind, that's solipsism. idealism suggests the world as it appears to be is shaped by and an appearance in our minds and that our minds are apart of broader median of Mind. things existing outside of the mind and in other minds is entirely compatible with idealism, but just not as they appear to be.
@Ricky-Spanish
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMI tend to view materialism the same way as I view Newtonian physics. It's possible that any form of materialism, vulgar, dialectical or otherwise does not in fact explain the ultimate, fundamental nature of reality. Perhaps we are all just aspects of a single mind or God or something and all phenomena and experiences of separateness, subjectivity, etc. are illusions a la eastern philosophical notions of non-duality. Even if that were the case, we experience the world subjectivity and can make (essentially) objective, empirical observations of it. We know that Newtonian physics breaks down at a certain level, and yet it still works. We can still use it to make concrete observations and apply it to create all kinds of things. Similarly, materialism works in explaining complex phenomena in the world as we experience it and can be proved out sufficiently in a way that we can utilize it. To me, Marx didn't seem interested in metaphysical claims and more or less deliberately side steps that debate in favor of embracing a methodological approach that can be independently tested, measured, verified and applied, i.e. science.
@rb8119
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMThe video fundamentally misunderstands idealism. It treats all forms of idealism as if they were subjective idealism, a specific type of philosophy akin to sollipsism and essentially represented by Berkeley. This mistake excludes a lot philosophers, from Plato and Aristotle to Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, and Hegel, who would all be considered idealists but not subjective idealists. They believed in the existence of reality beyond individual perception
Ontological idealism proposes that the fundamental nature of existence is shaped by non-material rational principles to which matter is subjugated. These rational principles would provide the order to the world we experience.
Epistemological idealism would entail that cognition is fundamentally shaped by rational principles within the mind that organize perception into understanding (Meaning things like causality, space, time, being… are the tools of the mind to paint it's canvas of the world).
Political idealism I guess would posit that ideal principles guide social, political, historical… events and relations.
By giving a flawed account of this the video misinforms the audience, it does not address the topic of marxist materialism VS idealism, and it's later jump towards the (insufficient and intellectually disingenuous) definition of political idealism and arguments that could be categorized as such, seems as non-sequitur.
@jugg9140
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMIdealism is stupid, one cannot simply defy the laws of physics. It's just that humans have free will/ego, God or whoever created us gave us the free will to choose.
@adsffdaaf4170
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMHeisenberg was an idealist, most of the workings of quantum mechanics suggest idealism.
I can't help but say that the idea that pre-colonial indigenous Americans were not destructive is completely a false notion (somewhat idealistic). Destructiveness is part of human nature. We did not see that materialism in action improved the human condition whatsoever. The 20th century was the bloodiest in human history, and a large part of that was due to Marxism and Capitalism.
@OneBriteStar
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMI can describe materialism with a single word: insanity.
@hyperboreanmakima
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMSo materialism is the same as the fascist philosophy of Actualism
@patrickdelarosa7743
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMYou need to read Bernardo Kastrup to understand and separate metaphysical claims with social/political claims, is materialism that says the world out there is all in your head, that experience only arises in your brain and that is why the hard problem of consciousness is unsolved, I’m a marxist in the political spectrum but an idealist in the metaphysical.
@winterwalsh5601
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMok this one was way easier to understand as i think this way al5ready, in the case of materialism, and totally get the meanings of both, but one of your other parts i understood but know for a fact manyb others will be stuck trying to understand, the dialectics ones, could you possibly elaborate more on those?
@kubhlaikhan2015
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PMMaterialism is a great tool but makes a lousy ideology.
@mentalitydesignvideo
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PM3:06 LOL
materialism is only methodologically stronger if you never leave the narrow circle of IDEAS (states of consciousness) which you call "matter, material conditions," etc. You can't get out of it, can't jump from the world of matter to qualitative perceptions we all experience, can't explain the nature of consciousness, can't do anything but run in circles.
@LAFC.
02/19/2025 - 1:33 PM"Materialists believe that our ideas and thoughts are shaped by the environment that we exist in"
Why didn't you just say THAT. Damn…