Any view claiming to find unity in a certain sphere where it might not have been expected.
The main forms of monism have been: a strong form, claiming that there is only one object (Eleaticism, Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677), Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831)); and a weaker form, claiming that there is only one kind of object, and in particular that matter and mind are not two independent kinds of thing (materialism, identity theory of mind, neutral monism, and subjective idealism in which matter is rejected, though minds and ideas are considered different).
Other forms of monism may say, for example, that things are related together or unified in their being governed by a simple law or principle (Heraclitus (fl.500 BC); or that there is only one proper kind of explanation of covering law model; or one basic ground for our duties (for example utilitarianism).
Also see: anomalous monism
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