Editing Monism (section)

== History ==
Material monism can be traced back to the [[pre-Socratic]] philosophers who sought to understand the arche or basic principle of the universe in terms of different material causes. These included [[Thales]], who argued that the basis of everything was water, [[Anaximenes of Miletus|Anaximenes]], who claimed it was air, and [[Heraclitus]] who believed it to be fire. Later, [[Parmenides]] described the world as "One", which could not change in any way. [[Zeno of Elea]] defended this view of everything being a single entity through his paradoxes, which aim to show the existence of time, motion and space to be illusionary.

[[Baruch Spinoza]] argued that 'God or Nature' (''Deus sive Natura'') is the only [[Substance theory|substance]] of the universe, which can be referred to as either '[[God]]' or '[[Nature]]' (the two being interchangeable). This is because God/Nature has all the possible attributes and no two substances can share an attribute, which means there can be no other substances than God/Nature.<ref>{{Citation |last=Nadler |first=Steven |title=Baruch Spinoza |date=2024 |encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2024/entries/spinoza/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |edition=Spring 2024 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |editor2-last=Nodelman |editor2-first=Uri}}</ref>

Monism has been discussed thoroughly in Indian philosophy and [[Vedanta]] throughout their history starting as early as the [[Rig Veda]]. The term ''monism'' was introduced in the 18th century by [[Christian von Wolff]]<ref name="Columbia" /> in his work ''Logic'' (1728),{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} to designate types of philosophical thought in which the attempt was made to eliminate the dichotomy of body and mind and explain all phenomena by one unifying principle, or as manifestations of a single substance.<ref name="Columbia">[http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/monism.aspx#4 "monism"], Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Retrieved 29 October 2014.</ref>

The [[mind–body problem]] in philosophy examines the relationship between [[mind]] and matter, and in particular the relationship between [[consciousness]] and the [[brain]]. The problem was addressed by [[René Descartes]] in the 17th century, resulting in [[Dualism (philosophy of mind)|Cartesian dualism]], and by pre-[[Aristotelianism|Aristotelian]] philosophers,<ref>{{cite book |editor1-first=R. C. |editor1-last=Olby |editor-first2=G. N. |editor-last2=Cantor |editor-first3=J. R. |editor-last3=Christie |editor-first4=M. J. S. |editor-last4=Hodges |title=Companion to the History of Modern Science |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1996 |pages=702–711 |isbn=0-415-14578-3 |chapter=The mind–body problem |chapter-url=http://human-nature.com/rmyoung/papers/pap102h.html |author=Robert M. Young |edition=Paperback reprint of Routledge 1990}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Robinson |first=Howard |title=Dualism |encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |edition=Winter 2011 |editor-first=Edward N. |editor-last=Zalta |url=http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2011/entries/dualism/ |date=Nov 3, 2011}}</ref> in [[Avicennism|Avicennian philosophy]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Forming the Mind: Essays on the Internal Senses and the Mind/Body Problem from Avicenna to the Medical Enlightenment |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media]] |year=2010 |edition=Paperback reprint of 2007 |isbn=978-9048175307 |chapter=Introduction |page=3 | first=Henrik |last=Lagerlund |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IV-dcQAACAAJ}}</ref> and in earlier Asian and more specifically Indian traditions.

Monism was later also applied to the theory of absolute identity set forth by [[Hegel]] and [[Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling|Schelling]].{{clarify|date=October 2022}}{{sfn|Urmson|1991|p=297}} Thereafter the term was more broadly used, for any theory postulating a unifying principle.{{sfn|Urmson|1991|p=297}} The opponent thesis of [[mind–body dualism|dualism]] also was broadened, to include pluralism.{{sfn|Urmson|1991|p=297}} According to Urmson, as a result of this extended use, the term is "systematically ambiguous".{{sfn|Urmson|1991|p=297}}

According to [[Jonathan Schaffer]], monism lost popularity due to the emergence of [[analytic philosophy]] in the early twentieth century, which revolted against the neo-Hegelians. [[Rudolf Carnap]] and [[A. J. Ayer]], who were strong proponents of [[positivism]], "ridiculed the whole question as incoherent [[mysticism]]".{{sfn|Schaffer|2010}}

The mind–body problem has reemerged in social psychology and related fields, with the interest in mind–body interaction{{sfn|Fiske|2010 |p= 195}} and the rejection of Cartesian mind–body dualism in the ''[[Type physicalism|identity thesis]]'', a modern form of monism.{{sfn|Fiske|2010|pp=195–196}} Monism is also still relevant to the [[philosophy of mind]],{{sfn|Urmson|1991|p=297}} where various positions are defended.{{sfn|Mandik|2010}}{{sfn|McLaughlin|2009}}