The question was asked: am I confusing philosophical materialism with consumerism?
No, I'm only talking about the philosophical materialism, although belief in that may lead to more significance being given to possessions than holding a spiritually-based view.
I believe that materialism is promoted by the mainstream today and that spiritual beliefs are marginalized in the extreme. There is some lip-service given to spiritual beliefs but in the main the vast number of institutions and authority figures espouse materialism.
There is another alternative to both materialism and dualism and that is idealism- the idea that everything is mind and that matter is just an appearance in mind. This is a philosophically sound view to hold and is the direction quantum physics seems to be pointing.
My own view is that matter is a product of mind, observable by mind, but of a character different to other mental phenomena. The main identifying characteristic of matter is that it appears to be not under the conscious control of mind, as other mental phenomenon appears to be. In a sense, matter is a perfect foil for mind. It is something to come up against, something to function through, acting as both a container and an expression device for mind while, simultaneously being a product or aspect of mind.
Sharka Todd
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