Models of Reality: Materialism, Dualism, Idealism

Models of Reality

Based entirely on Part One of Thomas Campbell’s My Big TOE, according to the official summary published on his website.

Approaches to Consciousness — Models & Questions (Q9–Q16)

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 9: 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 before a fundamental question: What is consciousness, and how does it relate to reality?

Traditionally, two major lenses explore this question: the outer, third-person view and the inner, first-person view.

Perspective Main question Method Objective
Objective (third-person) What is consciousness in physical terms? Neuroscience, biology, measurement Explain mechanisms & correlations
Subjective (first-person) What does it feel like to be conscious? Introspection, phenomenology, philosophy Describe lived experience & meaning

This split has shaped centuries of thought. Descartes drew a famous line—cogito, ergo sum—giving rise to Cartesian dualism, an echo that still resounds today.

🔀 Question 10: 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 area lights up, we cannot know the intensity of the emotion.
C) No: each person experiences emotions uniquely. What is pleasant for one may be painful for another.

Three Models of Reality

Let us explore three main ways humanity has tried to explain the relationship between consciousness and reality: Materialism, Dualism, and Idealism.

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.

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

🔀 Question 11: 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 12: 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.

2) Dualism

The mind and the body are two distinct substances. The body may host consciousness—but does not produce it. This was Descartes’ position: res extensa (extended matter) and res cogitans (thinking substance).

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

🔀 Question 13: 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 14: 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.

3) Idealism

Consciousness is primary. Matter arises within it. From ancient Vedānta to Berkeley and Schopenhauer, and today thinkers like Tom Campbell, idealism asks: What if we are not brains within a universe—but consciousness experiencing a universe?

In modern physics, experiments such as the double-slit suggest observation plays a role in outcomes, prompting the question: is the observer truly separate from what is observed?

Limitation: It cannot explain why feeling is present in a conscious being (why experience has qualitative tone).

🔀 Question 15: 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 16: 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.

Letting the Models Converse

Each view emerged from its time, with insights and blind spots. None explain everything. All explain something.

Materialism offers solid ground. Dualism honors our inner life. Idealism invites us to expand our sense of existence.

Perhaps the challenge is not to choose one, but to let them converse within us—as layers of a deeper truth.