Moser, Paul K. and Trout, J.D. (eds.) - Contemporary Materialism: A Reader

Materialism, of the kind accepted by many philosophers and scientists, is a general view about what actually exists. Put bluntly, the view is just this: Everything that actually exists is material, or physical. This general view originated with western philosophy itself, among the pre-Socratic philosophers in ancient Greece. Many philosophers and scientists now use the terms “material” and “physical” interchangeably; we shall follow suit.