What are your thoughts on materialism? ?

Question: What are your thoughts on materialism!? !?
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

The people in your life are more important than any material possessions you may have!.When we place more value on things rather than on people it says a lot about us!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

It's my pet subject!.

It's a difficult concept to accept!. No free will, life, god!.!.!.!. It's not generally going to be a popular choice!

I suppose understanding and agreeing with materialism has made me slightly less emotional, more analytical and slightly more serene!. I'm not hunting for anything apart from knowledge and a pleasant life!.

It has made my values a little alien to some and thinking about why things are, believing that everything can be explained by what's in front of you, can make for some strange conversations!.

The only challenge that I can see is the apparent randomness observed in quantum physics!. Either the behaviour observed isn't random (just more complex than we can currently comprehend), or materialism is bunkum!. I'm more led to the former!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

If by materialism you mean the senseless acquisition and accumulation of non-permanent possessions which can not bring one happiness, security, health nor spiritual awakening then this one would say that materialism is not beneficial either to the individual nor to all other beings!.

Often in the acquisition and accumulation of material possessions, others, including the soil, air, water, other creatures on this planet and especially other sentient beings are injured or harmed in some way!. Is it ever correct to harm others!?

In harming others, we, individually and collectively, harm ourselves!.

Please to remember that hearses do not have luggage racks, coffins and shrouds do not have pockets and we leave as we arrived!.

Be well and, please, be wiseWww@QuestionHome@Com

Are you taking about the philosophic concept of materialism i!.e!. that the only thing that can be truly proven to exist is matter and that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena (including consciousness) are the result of material interactions!? In which case I am broadly supportive of the philosophy with a few caveats!.

I don't think everything can be understood through reductivist methodologies!. Some things are clearly more than the some of their parts!. A good example are brains cells - individually stupid but when working together with millions of other brain cells the result is intelligent thought!. To know how a brain cell works isn't to know how the mind works!. This is not to reject reductivism altogether but just to understand its limitations!.

TO TREE: I was going to add (but decided against it originally) that materialism really needs to embrace ideas like Complexity Theory to move forward!. Maybe quantum theory can be accommodated this way!.

FURTHER ADD - Looking at the OPs profile I now suspect the question was not about the philosophy of materialism but about what I would call consumerism, in which case my answer won't make a lot of sense!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Materialism is an illusion!. We think it is real - for example, a wooden carving - because our senses send those messages to our brain, yet the wooden carving can be tossed into a fire and dissolved into its original elements, turn to ash and disperse into the atmosphere!. So where is its basic foundation as a verifiable truth!? None I can see under those circumstances!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

good morning sister
great question

materialism is an metaphysical doctrine that belive that mattar is the
only reality

some of the principles of materlism are following,they are important principles of indian school of materialism carvaka and hume views also

1 perception is only valid source of knowledge
materialism school of philosophy belive that perception is the only reality,we can percieve only mattar so mattar is the only reality,so for them source of knowledge is only perception,they were against the inference or authority of any person!.in inferece we infer for example we infer that if we will see smoke in the mountain than that is the result of fire,but materisalism doctrine is against it!.

2 God and Soul does not exist
they never belive in anything like god and soul,as we cannot percieve them at all,according to them mattar is the only reality,there is not any kind of evidence for god and soul!.they belive that human body is made by combination of air,water,earth,fire and after death,will mix in it,they rejected the fourth sky as we cannot percieve it!.

3 Enjoyment of pleasures and earning of wealth is the only aim of life
they belive that human life we got once,they were agianst the notion of recarnation,so we should enjoy the life to the maximun extent and should earn wealth also,wealth is only means for pleasure,who knows tomorrow we will live or not,so enjoy life completely by all means!.

4 they considered humans like Buddha an idiot and concepts like englightment as false
they belive that till there is human life,there will be pain as well as pleasures also,what we had to do is to minimize the pain and had to maximize the pleasure!.
englightment is called freedom from all pain,they think it is only possible after death,they considered saints and buddha an idiot because they act like fools,we leave pleasure for get freedom for pain and go to forest!.
which fool will not grow the crops because animals can eat it!.

5 they were against religious books quran,bible and hindus vedas
they were against them,they belive that these books were written by greedy and cunning priest for there own welfare and to earn a lot of money,they were not words of god,as god does not exist at all!.

6 Heaven and hell does not exist
they belive that the notion of heaven and hell is false and it is made by greedy priests for there own profit,they arise the fear of hell in innocent public and order them to perform rituals,they earn money by this,they think that on earth we can make our life heaven as well as hell!.everything is here on this planet!.

1 i personally belive that materialism made the philosophy rich and critical,kant had said that as western philosophy had been saved by hume by dogmatic slumber so does indian philosphy is saved by dogmatic slumber by carvaka school of philosophy

2 this world is materlistic,here money is only pleased,a girl will always marry that boy who is rich,my sister also said that i will marry that boy who is rich,so money is needed in this cruel world to survive,to cover our clothes,to get food money is needed!.but money cannot buy happiness,there are many rich humans who are not happy at all!.

" the person who is rich had many friends"

3 we should earn our money and should enjoy our money,we should earn it by hard work,without cheating of others,that money will no longer survive and will destory the person himself!.

" a person should be honest but not too much because straight trees cut first honest people screwd first"
kautilya
so we should be clever in this world to live,we should not cheat others and should never get cheated by cheaters,we should be wise in all the steps of our life!.

hope i answer the question to best of my abilities

god bless you sister and will give you power,money and knowledge,wealth,long life
all the best for the future sister
Www@QuestionHome@Com

surpisingly for me I actually have no thoughts on the subject at all!.
Most unlike me I think!.!.

However materialism for practical reasons I would think is acceptable to a point!.!.But for the sake of it only seems a little pointless to me having now given it a moments thought!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

You can not really live without it!. People say that one can be too materialistic true but if you are going to live in this world, you have to be materialistic to an extent!. How could one survive on just the basic things in life!? One coat, one set of clothes, one pair of shoes e!.t!.c!. What about personal hygiene when you start to smell or when your clothing starts to fall apart because it's so old!? Www@QuestionHome@Com

I don't know if you are referring to consumerism (aka materialism) or the belief that the only things that exist are made of matter!. I disagree with each!. The former is shallow, the latter is quasi-nihilistic!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill!.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt!.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench!.
Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner!.

Do your work, then step back!.
The only path to serenity!.
Www@QuestionHome@Com

Material objects anchor the soul in the mundane world of misery!. By relinquishing our desire to accumulate wealth and possessions, we are more able to experience the joyous reality of being!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Materialists have to answer one question first: What is matter!? What evidence do they have of it!?

Idealism is the natural way to go!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Materialism is pretty shallow!.
The people who covet it are shallow and immature!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Nothing wrong with it, just put a couple of quid in a charity box every now and then if your conscience bothers you!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Fortunately as people mature, most grow out of it!. It is pretty stupid really!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

i am not materialism more in life than thatWww@QuestionHome@Com

if it wasn't for it we wouldn't be sat here asking pointless Q's on these expensive machinesWww@QuestionHome@Com

Nothing against!. By the way I like your material!.

All the best!Www@QuestionHome@Com

here today, gone tomorrow!
you cannot take it with you!Www@QuestionHome@Com

whatever makes you happy!.!.!.!. =)Www@QuestionHome@Com