E-004 SEP Eliminative Materialism (Definition)

What exactly is being evidenced

A reference definition/characterization for Eliminative Materialism.

Exact excerpt

In principle, anyone denying the existence of some type of thing is an eliminativist with regard to that type of thing. Thus, there have been a number of eliminativists about different aspects of human nature in the history of philosophy. For example, hard determinists like Holbach (1770) are eliminativists with regard to free will because they claim there is no dimension of human psychology that corresponds to our commonsense notion of freedom. Similarly, by denying that there is an ego or persisting subject of experience, Hume (1739) was arguably an eliminativist about the self. Reductive materialists can be viewed as eliminativists with respect to an immaterial soul.

Where on the page

First paragraph of the entry (see local archive / source URL).

Claims/notes that use this

• (add links as needed)