Chapter 1

Where Did We Come From?

Q1.1 · Pre-Existence

Denied

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Physicalism holds that mental properties are either identical to or wholly realized by physical properties. Since consciousness depends on neural processes, it cannot pre-exist the neural substrate. The concept of a 'soul' that existed before birth is rejected as metaphysically incoherent.
Jaegwon Kim, Physicalism, or Something Near Enough (2007)

How this tradition expresses it

Physicalism denies the premise of pre-existence: there is no non-physical soul that could have existed before the brain developed.

Why this supports “Denied”

Physicalism's rejection of mind-body dualism entails that there is no separable mental substance that could pre-exist the physical brain.

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Auditor: scientific_materialism_v1
Audited: 4/12/2026

Q1.2 · Soul Nature

Denied

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In Matter and Consciousness, Paul Churchland presents a concise and contemporary overview of the philosophical issues surrounding the mind and explains the main theories and philosophical positions that have been proposed to solve them. Making the case for the relevance of theoretical and experimental results in neuroscience, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence for the philosophy of mind, Churchland reviews current developments in the cognitive sciences and offers a clear and accessib
Choice Reviews Online, 2014

How this tradition expresses it

From Unknown (2014): In Matter and Consciousness, Paul Churchland presents a concise and contemporary overview of the philosophical issues surrounding the mind and explains the main theories and philosophical positions th

Why this supports “Denied”

This paper by Unknown (2014) articulates the materialist/physicalist position that In Matter and Consciousness, Paul Churchland presents a concise and contemporary overview of the philosophical issues surrounding the mind and explain

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Auditor: scientific_materialism_v1
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Contemporary discussions in philosophy of mind have largely been shaped by physicalism, the doctrine that all phenomena are ultimately physical. Here, Jaegwon Kim presents the most comprehensive and systematic presentation yet of his influential ideas on the mind-body problem. He seeks to determine, after half a century of debate: What kind of (or "how much") physicalism can we lay claim to? He begins by laying out mental causation and consciousness as the two principal challenges to contemporar
Princeton University Press eBooks, 2007

How this tradition expresses it

From Jaegwon Kim (2007): Contemporary discussions in philosophy of mind have largely been shaped by physicalism, the doctrine that all phenomena are ultimately physical. Here, Jaegwon Kim presents the most comprehensive and s

Why this supports “Denied”

This paper by Jaegwon Kim (2007) articulates the materialist/physicalist position that Contemporary discussions in philosophy of mind have largely been shaped by physicalism, the doctrine that all phenomena are ultimately physical. Here,

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Auditor: scientific_materialism_v1
Audited: 4/12/2026

Q1.3 · Why Embodied

Spontaneous Emergence

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The evolution of consciousness required no supernatural intervention. Natural selection acting on neural complexity over millions of years produced organisms capable of subjective experience. There is no 'reason' for incarnation beyond the contingent facts of evolutionary history.
Daniel Dennett, Consciousness Explained (1991); Karl Friston et al. (2020)

How this tradition expresses it

Consciousness arises naturally from biological complexity through evolution; there is no purpose or agent behind incarnation.

Why this supports “Spontaneous Emergence”

Materialist evolutionary theory explains consciousness as an emergent property of sufficient neural complexity, arising through natural selection without teleological purpose.

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Auditor: scientific_materialism_v1
Audited: 4/12/2026

Q1.4 · Pre-Birth State

Denied

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Chapter 2

Why Are We Here?

Q2.1 · Purpose of Life

No Inherent Purpose

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Humanism: A Very Short Introduction explores how humanism uses science and reason to make sense of the world, looking at how it encourages individual moral responsibility and shows that life can have meaning without religion. Are atheism and humanism 'faith positions'? Without God is there morality? Without God do we have a purpose? Religion is currently gaining a higher profile. The number of faith schools is increasing, and religious points of view are being aired more frequently. As religion'
Oxford University Press eBooks, 2011

How this tradition expresses it

From Stephen Law (2011): Humanism: A Very Short Introduction explores how humanism uses science and reason to make sense of the world, looking at how it encourages individual moral responsibility and shows that life can have

Why this supports “No Inherent Purpose”

This paper by Stephen Law (2011) articulates the materialist/physicalist position that Humanism: A Very Short Introduction explores how humanism uses science and reason to make sense of the world, looking at how it encourages individual

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Auditor: scientific_materialism_v1
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Q2.2 · Body Relationship

Integrated Unity

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This chapter defends Terence Horgan's claim that any genuinely physicalist position must distinguish itself from (what has been traditionally known as) emergentism. It argues that physicalism is necessarily reductive in character — it must either give a reductive account of apparently non‐physical entities, or a reductive explanation of why there are non‐physical entities. It contends that many recent ‘non‐reductive’ physicalists do not do this, and that because of this they cannot adequately di
Oxford University Press eBooks, 2010

How this tradition expresses it

From Tim Crane (2010): This chapter defends Terence Horgan's claim that any genuinely physicalist position must distinguish itself from (what has been traditionally known as) emergentism. It argues that physicalism is neces

Why this supports “Integrated Unity”

This paper by Tim Crane (2010) articulates the materialist/physicalist position that This chapter defends Terence Horgan's claim that any genuinely physicalist position must distinguish itself from (what has been traditionally known as

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Auditor: scientific_materialism_v1
Audited: 4/12/2026

Hylo-idealism, the militantly atheist philosophical persuasion of Victorian poet and philosopher Constance Naden, attempted to combine what had long been thought irreconcilable: materialism with idealism, mind and matter, thought and thing. It did so radically by denying the difference between these dualistic terms. This paper explores the implications of this theory as it was developed in Naden’s poetry and prose, arguing that Naden’s insistence on the interrelationality of humanity and nature
European Journal of English Studies, 2022

How this tradition expresses it

From Irmtraud Huber (2022): Hylo-idealism, the militantly atheist philosophical persuasion of Victorian poet and philosopher Constance Naden, attempted to combine what had long been thought irreconcilable: materialism with ideal

Why this supports “Integrated Unity”

This paper by Irmtraud Huber (2022) articulates the materialist/physicalist position that Hylo-idealism, the militantly atheist philosophical persuasion of Victorian poet and philosopher Constance Naden, attempted to combine what had long b

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Auditor: scientific_materialism_v1
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Q2.3 · Moral Accountability

Natural Law

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Moral behavior evolved through kin selection, reciprocal altruism, and cultural group selection. Accountability operates through reputation, social sanctions, empathy, and rational deliberation. No divine judge or karmic mechanism is needed to explain why humans behave morally.
Secular ethics tradition (Mill, Singer, Parfit, Scanlon)

How this tradition expresses it

Moral accountability exists through natural social, evolutionary, and rational processes, not metaphysical judgment.

Why this supports “Natural Law”

Secular/naturalist ethics explains moral accountability through evolutionary, social, and rational mechanisms rather than metaphysical ones.

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Q2.4 · Path of Progress

Denied

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Chapter 3

Where Do We Go After Death?

Q3.1 · Surviving Death

Extinction

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Q3.2 · Death Moment

Dissolution

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Clinical death involves the sequential cessation of cortical activity, brainstem reflexes, and cellular metabolism. The subjective experience of dying (if any) is a product of these failing neural processes, not evidence of a departing soul.
Standard neuroscience; Sam Parnia, 'What Happens When We Die' (2006)

How this tradition expresses it

At death, neural processes cease in sequence. No soul departs; the biological system stops.

Why this supports “Dissolution”

Neuroscience describes death as the cessation of biological function, explaining any subjective phenomena (e.g., NDE-like experiences) as products of failing neural processes.

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Audited: 4/12/2026

Q3.3 · Afterlife Structure

No Afterlife

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The concept of an afterlife is best explained by terror management theory, cultural transmission, and the human cognitive tendency toward agent-detection and pattern-seeking. No physical mechanism exists for consciousness to persist without a functioning brain.
Susan Blackmore, Dying to Live (1993); Sheldon Solomon et al., The Worm at the Core (2015)

How this tradition expresses it

There is no post-mortem realm. The afterlife concept is a human cultural construction.

Why this supports “No Afterlife”

Materialism explains afterlife beliefs as psychological/cultural phenomena rather than descriptions of reality. No physical mechanism supports post-mortem consciousness.

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Q3.4 · Long-Term Destiny

Denied

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Alleged memories of past lives have natural explanations: cryptomnesia (forgotten sources of information), suggestion, confabulation, and cultural expectation. No physical mechanism can transfer subjective experience from one brain to another.
Susan Blackmore, Dying to Live (1993); Paul Edwards, Reincarnation: A Critical Examination (1996)

How this tradition expresses it

Reincarnation requires a mechanism for transferring consciousness between bodies. No such mechanism exists.

Why this supports “Denied”

Materialism provides natural explanations for past-life memories and denies the possibility of consciousness transfer between bodies.

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Q3.5 · Ultimate Destination

Denied

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The concept of a soul's 'ultimate destination' presupposes the existence of a non-physical entity that persists after bodily death. Physicalism rejects this presupposition. Death is the permanent end of individual subjective experience.
Physicalist consensus; Thomas Metzinger, Being No One (2003)

How this tradition expresses it

There is no 'destination' because there is no entity that survives death to travel anywhere.

Why this supports “Denied”

Metzinger's work on the self-model theory of subjectivity argues there is no persisting self even during life, let alone after death.

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Auditor: scientific_materialism_v1
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Scientific Materialism

Where Did We Come From?

Why Are We Here?

Where Do We Go After Death?

NoeticMap Guide