Materialism is the belief that physical things, such as money and possessions, are the most important part of life. In philosophy, it is the idea that everything, including mind and thought, can be explained by physical matter and its movements.
Built from “material” plus the suffix “-ism”, which often marks a belief system or philosophy. It developed in the 18th century to describe a philosophical position that only matter is real. Later, it also came to mean a lifestyle focused on owning things.
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