Definitions by Dumu The Void

Metamaterialism

A sophisticated form of materialism that has incorporated its critics—a materialism that acknowledges the reality of consciousness, meaning, and experience while insisting they are ultimately material in some expanded sense. Metamaterialism doesn't reduce mind to neurons; it expands matter to include mind. It suggests that matter may be more complex, more strange, more capable than traditional materialism allowed—perhaps matter itself has experiential properties, or gives rise to genuinely novel phenomena that are still material in origin if not in character. It's materialism that has learned from its critics and grown.

Metamaterialism "I used to be a simple materialist: everything is particles. Then I studied consciousness and realized particles don't explain experience. Now I'm a Metamaterialist: matter is richer than we thought, capable of generating mind, meaning, maybe even spirit. Not abandoning materialism—expanding it."

Metamaterialism by Dumu The Void February 24, 2026

Extramaterialism

The view that reality includes more than just matter—that consciousness, information, meaning, and possibly other phenomena are real and irreducible to material components. Extramaterialism doesn't deny that matter exists; it denies that matter is all that exists. It's the position that materialism, as a complete worldview, fails because it cannot account for the qualitative, the intentional, the subjective. Extramaterialism opens space for minds, meanings, and experiences to be real without being supernatural—just extramaterial.

"You think love is just neurochemistry? Extramaterialism says: neurochemistry is real, but so is love as experienced, as meaningful, as causal in human affairs. The experience isn't reducible to the chemistry—it's extramaterial. Both are real, both matter, but one isn't just the other."

Extramaterialism by Dumu The Void February 24, 2026

Paranormalism

The study of or belief in phenomena that appear to violate the laws of nature as currently understood—telepathy, psychokinesis, ghosts, precognition, and related experiences. Paranormalism doesn't necessarily posit a separate supernatural realm; it suggests that nature may be stranger than our current models allow, and that phenomena currently labeled "paranormal" may eventually be incorporated into an expanded science. It's the position that the boundaries of the natural are not yet fixed, and that experiences dismissed as impossible deserve investigation rather than dismissal.

"I had a dream about my grandmother the night she died, exactly as it happened. Science says that's coincidence. Paranormalism says: maybe science doesn't know everything yet. Maybe there are phenomena we haven't explained, not because they're fake, but because our models are incomplete. Keep investigating, don't just dismiss."

Paranormalism by Dumu The Void February 24, 2026

Supernaturalism

The belief in realities that transcend the natural world—gods, spirits, miracles, realms beyond the physical. Supernaturalism holds that nature is not all that exists; there is something beyond, above, or outside the natural order that can interact with it. Unlike Extraphysicalism (which suggests continuity), Supernaturalism often implies discontinuity: the supernatural is categorically different, operating by different rules, accessible through different means. It's the worldview of most religions, many spiritual traditions, and anyone who believes in realities that cannot be naturalized.

"You think prayer is just self-soothing? Supernaturalism says: there's literally something listening, something beyond nature, something that can respond. Not metaphor, not psychological projection—actual supernatural agency. You don't have to believe it, but millions do, and their experience isn't nothing."

Supernaturalism by Dumu The Void February 24, 2026

Metaphysicalism

A broad philosophical orientation that prioritizes metaphysical inquiry—investigation into the fundamental nature of reality, being, and existence. Metaphysicalism holds that empirical science, while valuable, cannot answer its own foundational questions: Why is there something rather than nothing? What is the nature of causation? Are universals real? What is consciousness? These questions require metaphysical reasoning, not just data collection. Metaphysicalism doesn't reject science—it insists that science operates within a metaphysical framework that must itself be examined. It's the view that what's real includes more than what can be measured.

"Science tells us how the universe behaves, but Metaphysicalism asks: what is the universe, really? Is it made of substances? Processes? Information? Consciousness? These aren't scientific questions—they're metaphysical. And pretending you don't have metaphysics is just having unexamined metaphysics."

Metaphysicalism by Dumu The Void February 24, 2026

Extraphysicalism

A philosophical position holding that reality extends beyond the physical—that there are dimensions, realms, or aspects of existence that cannot be reduced to or explained by physics alone. Unlike supernaturalism (which often implies intervention from outside), Extraphysicalism suggests that these non-physical aspects are part of reality, continuous with it, just operating at different levels or in different modes. Consciousness, meaning, mathematical truth, and possibly other phenomena may be extraphysical: real, causal, and not reducible to particles and forces. Extraphysicalism doesn't deny physics—it insists physics isn't the whole story.

"You keep saying everything is physical, but consciousness still resists physical explanation. Extraphysicalism says: maybe that's because it's extraphysical—real, causal, but not reducible to neurons. Not supernatural, not magical, just not captured by physics alone. The universe is bigger than your ontology."

Extraphysicalism by Dumu The Void February 24, 2026

Fallacy of Special Privation

A fallacy where someone applies standards of privation—demands to account for harm, suffering, or failure—selectively, demanding that one system or idea be judged by its worst outcomes while exempting another system from the same standard. "Religion has caused wars, therefore religion is evil" from someone who ignores wars fought for secular ideologies. "Science has been wrong before, therefore science isn't trustworthy" from someone who trusts science when it confirms their biases. "Your side has bad people" from someone whose side also has bad people, but that doesn't count. Special Privation is hypocrisy in logical form: the harms that matter are the harms your opponents cause; your side's harms are justified, minimal, or irrelevant.

"He spent an hour listing every harm caused by organized religion throughout history. When I mentioned secular atrocities, he said 'That's different—those weren't really about ideology.' That's Fallacy of Special Privation: one standard for them, another for us. The privation is special because it only applies to people we don't like."

Fallacy of Special Privation by Dumu The Void February 24, 2026