Introduction to Monist Alternatives to Physicalism

In this Journal of Consciousness Studies Special Issue we present a number of unifying (non-dualist), explanatory alternatives to physicalism—hence our title, “Monist alternatives to physicalism.” Rather than reducing mind and consciousness to the body and brain or vice-versa the papers in this issue explore option the possibility that mind, consciousness and physical matter might be aspects or arrangements of something more fundamental that is in itself neither “mental” nor “physical” as normally understood. One can adopt this unifying strategy at microcosmic, intermediate and macrocosmic scales, for example by reconceptualising (a) the basic building blocks of which mind, consciousness and physical matter are made, (b) the relationships among mind, consciousness and the material world as these present themselves in science and everyday experience, and (c) the nature of a universe able to rise to such mental, experiential and material manifestations. In any unified understanding, these explanatory levels must interconnect. Roughly speaking, however, the papers in this issue are arranged in sequence, according to whether their primary focus is microcosmic, intermediate, or global. Whatever the fundamental nature of Nature might be, it must have the power to give rise to its observable manifestations. Consequently, all the papers in this issue are concerned to give a “natural” account of the relationships among consciousness, mind, and the material world that is entirely consistent with the findings of science, and they all accept that for a unified understanding, mind, consciousness and the material world must have a common base.