Definition of "physicalism" [physicalism]

• Philosophy The view that all that exists is ultimately physical. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "That doesn't lead to 'physicalism is triumphant' but 'all bets are off'."
• "In metaphysics this idea is often called physicalism (or materialism), which assumes in a biological context that (a) biological properties supervene on physical properties (i.e., no difference in a biological property without a difference in some underlying physical property), and (b) each particular biological process (or token) is metaphysically identical to some particular physico-chemical process."
• "I have an interest in the notion of physicalism, but I don't really have a complete grasp of the idea - this idea seems to go a long way toward helping me understand it more."