It denies the existence of spirits, souls, and gods, and it insists that all activities of mind and emotion are based on physical properties. Throughout its long history, materialism has been closely associated with, and supported by, investigations into the physical sciences. These sciences have long been based only on studies of matter, of physical bodies and their properties. Because of its emphasis on matter alone, materialism has often been considered antireligious. Humans are intuitively aware of a reality beyond sensory phenomena.
All knowledge is derived from experience by way of sense perceptions.