Monism attributes oneness or singleness (Greek: μόνος) to a concept, such as existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished:
Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., in Neoplatonism everything is derived from the One. In this view, only the One is ontologically fundamental or prior to everything else. Existence monism posits that, strictly speaking, there exists only a single thing, the universe, which can only be artificially and arbitrarily divided into many things. Substance monism asserts that a variety of existing things can be explained in terms of a single reality or substance. Substance monism posits that only one kind of substance exists, although many things may be made up of this substance, e.g., matter or mind. Dual-aspect monism is the view that the mental and the physical are two aspects of, or perspectives on, the same substance. Neutral monism believes the fundamental nature of reality to be neither mental nor physical; in other words it is "neutral". Political monism is sometimes used to describe political concepts, such as unitarianism, based on certain principles like ethnicity or identity.
Definitions There are two sorts of definitions for monism:
The wide definition: a philosophy is monistic if it postulates unity of the origin of all things; all existing things return to a source that is distinct from them. The restricted definition: this requires not only unity of origin but also unity of substance and essence. Although the term monism is derived from Western philosophy to typify positions in the mind–body problem, it has also been used to typify religious traditions. In modern Hinduism, the term "absolute monism" has been applied to Advaita Vedanta, though Philip Renard points out that this may be a Western interpretation, bypassing the intuitive understanding of a nondual reality. It is more generally categorized by scholars as a form of absolute nondualism.
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, 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 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. 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 in his work Logic (1728), 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. 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 Cartesian dualism, and by pre-Aristotelian philosophers, in Avicennian philosophy, 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 Schelling. Thereafter the term was more broadly used for any theory postulating a unifying principle. The opponent thesis of dualism also was broadened, to include pluralism. According to Urmson, as a result of this extended use, the term is "systematically ambiguous". 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". The mind–body problem has reemerged in social psychology and related fields, with the interest in mind–body interaction and the rejection of Cartesian mind–body dualism in the identity thesis, a modern form of monism. Monism is also still relevant to the philosophy of mind, where various positions are defended.
Types
Different types of monism include:
Substance monism, "the view that the apparent plurality of substances is due to different states or appearances of a single substance" Attributive monism, "the view that whatever the number of substances, they are of a single ultimate kind" Epistemological monism, where "ultimately, everything that can be thought, observed and engaged, shares one conceptual system of interaction, however complex." Partial monism, "within a given realm of being (however many there may be) there is only one substance" Existence monism, "the view that there is only one concrete object token (The One, "Τὸ Ἕν" or the Monad)" Priority monism, "the whole is prior to its parts" or "the world has parts, but the parts are dependent fragments of an integrated whole" Property monism, "the view that all properties are of a single type (e.g., only physical properties exist)" Genus monism, "the doctrine that there is a highest category; e.g., being" Views contrasting with monism are:
Metaphysical dualism, which asserts that there are two ultimately irreconcilable substances or realities such as Good and Evil, for example, Gnosticism and Manichaeism. Metaphysical pluralism, which asserts three or more fundamental substances or realities. Metaphysical nihilism, negates any of the above categories (substances, properties, concrete objects, etc.). Monism in modern philosophy of mind can be divided into three broad categories:
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