Philosophy for the Future: The Quest of Modern Materialism

Mulgan's Philosophy for the Future: The Quest of Modern Materialism examines how contemporary materialism confronts fundamental questions about meaning, morality, and human purpose in a godless universe. The work situates itself within the tradition of philosophical naturalism while addressing the existential and ethical challenges that arise when supernatural explanations are rejected. Mulgan engages critically with both the achievements and limitations of modern materialist philosophy, particularly its struggles to provide satisfying accounts of consciousness, value, and human significance without recourse to transcendent realities.

The monograph traces the development of materialist thought from its mechanistic origins through various sophisticated contemporary forms, including eliminative materialism, emergentism, and non-reductive physicalism. Mulgan analyzes how each approach handles the persistent explanatory gaps that critics of materialism highlight, particularly the hard problem of consciousness and the grounding of objective moral values. He examines debates between materialists and their critics, including property dualists, panpsychists, and theistic philosophers who argue that materialism cannot adequately account for the full range of human experience and knowledge.

Central to Mulgan's analysis is the question of whether materialism can support a robust conception of human flourishing and moral responsibility. He explores how materialist philosophers from Epicurus to contemporary thinkers have attempted to construct meaningful ethical frameworks without appealing to divine commands or cosmic purposes. The work addresses the nihilistic implications that critics often associate with materialism, examining various strategies materialists employ to preserve notions of objective value, moral truth, and existential meaning within a purely physical ontology.

Mulgan's method combines historical analysis with systematic philosophy, tracking how materialist responses to theistic arguments have evolved alongside scientific developments. He particularly focuses on how neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and physics have shaped contemporary materialist positions on traditional philosophical problems. The monograph contributes to the God debate by providing a comprehensive assessment of materialism's explanatory resources and limitations, offering neither uncritical endorsement nor dismissive rejection but rather a nuanced evaluation of what a thoroughly naturalistic worldview can and cannot provide. This balanced approach makes the work valuable for understanding the current state of the materialism-theism debate and the conceptual challenges facing both positions.