Abstract

Explores a postmodern criticism of P. S. Churchland's claims regarding materialism. Materialism is classically understood to be the philosophical position which holds that matter is the fundamental reality of the world, and so neurobiological explanations can be said to be materialistic. Neurobiological explanations of behavior are used increasingly in the place of psychological explanations. This trend is indicative of the rise in popularity of materialism. Churchland is one of the intellectual leaders in the modern manifestation of materialism. She is a self-proclaimed materialist and "neurophilosopher." In order for Churchland to maintain her materialist position, she must assume a transparency in scientific method, an assumption which is a legacy of Enlightenment philosophy. However, many postmodern philosophers including M. Heidegger and H. G. Gadamer have questioned this assumed transparency of method. The implications of this postmodern philosophy for the current materialistic trends in psychology are discussed. 2012 APA, all rights reserved)