ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how physicalism (materialism) should be defined. Taking our cue from Frank Jackson–s conception of physicalism as a composition thesis, we explore the idea that the mental is nothing more than what we get when we put the right physical ingredients together aright. We then consider Hempel–s dilemma and the question of how the notion of a physical phenomenon ought to be understood. We then consider supervenience-based formulations of physicalism and the question of how physicalism differs from emergentism. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the difference between a priori physicalism and a posteriori physicalism, and a brief look at some of the challenges facing physicalism.
