Mentalism (Noun)
Meaning
(philosophy) a doctrine that mind is the true reality and that objects exist only as aspects of the mind's awareness.
Classification
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents.
Examples
- Mentalism, a philosophical position that posits the primacy of the mind, is often contrasted with physicalism, which holds that the physical world is fundamental.
- Berkeley's philosophical idealism, a form of mentalism, argues that the external world is merely a collection of perceptions in the mind of the observer.
- Some philosophers argue that mentalism is an attractive solution to the problem of subjective experience, as it suggests that consciousness is the fundamental reality.
- Critics of mentalism often argue that it leads to solipsism, the view that only one's own mind is sure to exist, and that other minds may be mere constructs.
- In contrast to realism, which holds that objects have an independent existence, mentalism posits that the world is a creation of the mind and exists only in relation to it.