Comment by pab_guy on 24/02/2025 at 16:03 UTC

4 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)

View submission: Quantum mechanics suggests reality isn’t made of standalone objects but exists only in relations, transforming our understanding of the universe. | An interview with Carlo Rovelli on quantum mechanics, white holes and the relational universe.

View parent comment

Physicalism is a belief, not a theory. A theory would posit a mechanism. The belief of physicalists is that a mechanism will be discovered.

Some physicalists might contend that if we solve all the small problems, and still don't have an answer for the hard problem, then physicalism would be falsified.

But physicalism itself is so poorly defined that I'm not sure it matters... it's fairly meaningless to begin with.

Replies

Comment by WorkItMakeItDoIt at 24/02/2025 at 17:25 UTC

4 upvotes, 1 direct replies

You said nothing I disagree with.  But if you confront most of them with that claim they fight you.  The physicalists who responded to me here are perfectly reasonable, but they were the first I'd ever found that were.  Most seem to confuse belief and fact.