Materialism is the position that only material things exist and that all other things can be explained in terms of matter and the physical properties of matter. It would deny the existence of anything immaterial, such as the mind. Contrast with physicalism.

There is no real difference between materialism and physicalism since both posit that the universe is all that there is and that everything in it (gravity, light, thoughts, beauty, etc.,) is dependent upon the physical realm.