1.3 Models of Reality Materialism, Dualism, Idealism

1.3 Models of Reality: Materialism, Dualism, Idealism

Approaches to Consciousness

Let us return to the story of the man who thought he saw a snake.

He was walking along a forest path at dusk when he froze—there, coiled on the ground, was a snake. His heart raced. His breath caught. But as his eyes adjusted, he realized it was just a rope.

The snake was never there. It was a projection of his mind.

🔀 Question 1: What conclusions could we draw from this story?

A) That we can trust our senses.
B) That perceived reality is not always objective reality.
C) What we perceive as true may be a construction of our mind.
D) Interpretations must be made after the act of seeing clearly.

Two Ways of Approaching Consciousness

We find ourselves again in front of a fundamental question:

What is consciousness? And how does it relate to reality?

There are two major lenses through which this question has traditionally been viewed:

Perspective Main Question Method
Objective What is consciousness in physical terms? Neuroscience, biology
Subjective What does it feel like to be conscious? Internal experience, philosophy

This split—between outer observation and inner experience—has shaped centuries of thought. René Descartes famously declared, “I think, therefore I am.” With those words, he drew a line: the body is a mechanical extension of the world; the mind, something else entirely.

Thus was born Cartesian dualism—a model that still echoes today.

🔀 Question 2: When looking at a brain scan, can you assess what a person is experiencing internally?

A) Yes: you can see the different processing areas of the brain light up.
B) No: even if the emotional processing area lights up, we cannot know the intensity of the emotion being felt.
C) No: each person experiences emotions uniquely. What is pleasant for one may be painful for another.

The hard problem of consciousness

We can measure brain activity, but we cannot observe the felt quality of sadness, joy, or awe.

Three Models of Reality

Let us explore the three main ways humanity has tried to explain the relationship between consciousness and reality.

1) Materialism

In this view, the brain creates the mind.

Reality is physical, and consciousness is a byproduct—like light from a flame.

It gained strength after Darwin, riding on the predictive success of classical physics and neuroscience.

🔀 Question 3: From this perspective, what statements could be made?

A) Everything that exists is physical matter.
B) Consciousness is a byproduct of the brain, like light from fire.
C) When the body dies, consciousness disappears.
D) Consciousness can be weighed.

🔀 Question 4: What advantages does accepting this view offer?

A) It only admits the truth: what cannot be measured does not exist.
B) It allows for clear scientific explanations.
C) It can explain everything related to consciousness.
D) It has no limits.

The limitation

It cannot explain why conscious beings have subjective experiences — why something is felt, not just processed.

2) Dualism

The mind and the body are two distinct substances. The body may host consciousness—but it does not produce it.

This was Descartes’ position: res extensa (extended matter) and res cogitans (thinking substance).

🔀 Question 5: From this view, what statements could be made?

A) Mental reality weighs twice as much as material reality.
B) There are two realities: material (body, brain) and immaterial (mind, soul).
C) The body receives or channels consciousness, but does not produce it.
D) The body is unimportant compared to the mind.

🔀 Question 6: What advantages does accepting this view offer?

A) It doesn’t require locating consciousness in the body.
B) It admits subjective experience as something real and unique.
C) It explains well how body and mind communicate.

The challenge

Explaining the bridge. If the body is a piano and the mind the pianist, how do they interact?

3) Idealism

Now comes a bold proposal:

Consciousness is primary. Matter arises within it.

In modern physics, experiments like the double-slit experiment suggest that observation changes reality. Some physicists began to wonder: what if the observer isn’t separate from what is observed?

From ancient Vedanta to thinkers like Berkeley, Schopenhauer, and—today—Tom Campbell, idealism asks:

What if we are not brains within a universe?
What if we are consciousness experiencing a universe?

🔀 Question 7: From this perspective, what statements could be made?

A) Consciousness is the foundation of reality.
B) Everything we perceive—body, objects, thoughts—occurs within consciousness.
C) Since consciousness is the foundation of reality, everything else does not exist.
D) We are not brains in a world: we are consciousness experiencing a world.

🔀 Question 8: What advantages does accepting this view offer?

A) That nothing matters, and we can do whatever we want.
B) It recognizes that the only direct certainty we can affirm is: I am experiencing.
C) It can be very compatible with the traditional scientific approach.