Materialism has two main meanings: philosophically, it's the idea that only physical matter and energy exist, and everything, including the mind and consciousness, is a product of material interactions. In a more common, everyday sense, it refers to a value system that prioritizes possessions, wealth, and status over other, non-material values like spiritual or personal growth.

Our book set out to understand materialism, historically and conceptually — and lo and behold, there’s not one single story to be told. We try to address non-Western traditions: Indian traditions, Chinese traditions, Indigenous American traditions,” said Symons, who co-edited the book with Charles Wolfe of the University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès in France.

The negative impacts of materialism include decreased happiness, increased anxiety and depression, damage to self-esteem and interpersonal relationships, and financial strain. Materialistic individuals also show less prosocial behavior, have more negative environmental attitudes and sustainable behaviors, and are more likely to feel dissatisfaction and emptiness from their consumption habits.

Materialism is the tendency to consider material possessions and comfort more significant than spiritual values. Individuals have become obsessed with the idea of possessing things. Ranking of social classes has been based on the things that someone owns. Materialism has become a force that makes humans dejected, self-centered, and ungrateful creatures.

Buddhism and Science have been regarded as compatible by numerous authors. Some philosophic and psychological teachings found in Buddhism share points in common with modern Western scientific and philosophic thought.

The term ‘metaphysics’ was first coined by Aristotle and in its original sense it was meant to describe a field seeking knowledge of the essential and eternal elements of the world and being. For Aristotle, knowledge of the eternal elements of the Universe is the primary question of philosophy and as such takes precedent over science, but that its study can only bear fruit after scientific enquiry (physics) is fully developed. The study of the eternal, inner meaning of everything, as such, must preclude and follow science and that is what ‘meta-physics’ means.

Spirituality involves the recognition of a feeling or sense or belief that there is something greater than myself, something more to being human than sensory experience, and that the greater whole of which we are part is cosmic or divine in nature.

The definition of our own species isn’t as clear cut as many might think. Explore the intricate nuances of our identity, examining factors like bipedalism, brain development, and societal structures.