What's the difference between material and immaterial?

[bigbang101]

[IlyaTheImpaler]

Material things are made up of "fundamental particles" e. g. house, tree , light, gravity, electric field
Immaterial things are not. e. g. human minds

Note:
"field" is a physical quantity that has a value for each point in space-time.
"particles" are not point like thingy in space, they are localized region in space in which the "field" strength or the energy density are particularly high.
"fundamental particles" are irreducible particles.

I hope you're not asking this to understand Leibniz's Monadology lol. He's not dealing with physics, but meta physics, all comments about his quote using modern vocabulary are meaningless without understanding what he means by "substance', "activity" etc.
plato.stanford.edu/entries/leibniz/#SomFunPriLei
plato.stanford.edu/entries/leibniz/#MetPriSub

[devilman666]

Nit picking here but electric fields and gravity would count as immaterial since they are only forces and made up of no particles. Light would kind of be arguable but in my opinion it would be immaterial, it is made up of a photon, but to my understanding a photon is nothing but electromagnetic energy, no particles.

I disagree with that definition of particles. Wikipedia defines particles as a small localized object to which can be ascribed several physical or chemical properties.

[IlyaTheImpaler]

@devilman666 No, electric fields and light are made up of the same particles called photons... electric and gravitational forces are made up of bosons, your understanding of particles is the same as that of 17th century people, and you'd run into trouble if you ever have to think about how single electron could interfere with itself to create a pattern on the screen, I think it's taught at the end of high school or sth.
Wikipedia's definition agrees with my definition (if they speak of "chemical properties" or "volume" etc. it means they are talking about macroscopic particles, which are made up of smaller particles - the ones I'm telling you about), it's just that I'm using the language of people who know what a field is, but I already defined it here so there shouldn't be any misunderstanding.
You can also read Einstein's metaphysics of relativity, I think he was the first to think of particles the way I wrote here.
Of course you don't need to call any of those things (fermions, bosons) "particles" because you never have to deal with them, just that people who do particle physics call them 'particles', and these 'particles' are as material as your tennis ball, they have momentum, kinetic energy, mass (could be 0) etc. (yes I'm talking about things like electric field)

[devilman666]

You are quoting a man who died over 200 years ago. I'm pretty sure that by immaterial he meant gasses, since they didn't know that gas was just a super small particle at the time. The wording of that is all off by our standards today, for example "bare essence" shows a lack of understanding of the existence of protons, neutrons, and electrons.

Also I dont know if it is the translation but what he us saying seems nonsensical to me. To summarize the quote: The bare essence of substances cannot be conceived without activity that comes from the essence of substance.

[Mollynotgemma]

Material is something unnatural and tangible... Immaterial is something you can’t see! But both deserve as much respect as the other... because what is immaterial to you is material for another.
Material and immaterial only exist when used together

[TacocaT6969]

Material you can touch, immaterial you can not touch.

[bigbang101]

Examples?

[TacocaT6969]

You are material. Your thoughts are nonmaterial.

[genericname85]

substances can not be immaterial. the difference between material and immaterial is that material is everything that is a physical substance, like water, air, earth and such. immaterial is everything that is defined by relations and not materials alone. for example "society", "the ego", feelings and love are immaterial. they are defined as relations between material or other immaterial things or a mixture of that.

[sidhesh]

When we perceive thing reaction takes place within inside us. If Mode of perception changes that will change the object perceived. So 1 important is our perception ability 2 changing Behavior of things around us eg place and weather etc.3 living being have something inherent which is beyond perception. And this beyond percetiin3thing differentiate material and immaterial things

[jaygee933]

I think he's talking about the different forms of matter, solid, liquid, gas. The point if the quote is that you cannot describe what something IS without describing what it DOES

[andreasderjuengere]

One exists because of the other. But the other doesn't care.
I conclude: Leibniz referred to a couple that was married longer than it was good for them?

[MoscowMitch]

That's a good question. I thought all substances were material. Immaterial things are stuff like ideas, emotions and God.

[markscott]

Or, material is pertinent to the situation, immaterial is not.

[Texaskid1]

Material begins with the letter "m" and immaterial begins with the letter "i".

Question answered.

[FunkyMonkee]

Material is what you make clothes out of, immaterial is what you make invisible clothes out of!!

[BeHappy1985]

https://www.merriam-webster.com/

[jojouzumaki]

material is physical and immaterial is spiritual.

[bigbang101]

And what is spiritual?

[esotericstory]

Material is like a physical object, but immaterial is something like faith, its not a material thing.

[Holy_Ghost_Fire]

Material are things that is in nature that can interacted with using the senses but immaterial are things like values, numbers and other things.

[John_Doesnt]

It's the difference between being a Jedi Master and being a Republican.

[Neeceeb7]

One is not important. Immaterial means irrelevant. And material is it matters to the issue at hand

[bigbang101]

A very ignorant description

[Neeceeb7]

Lol I didn't know I had to write an essay.

[nerms123]

Material you can touch. Immaterial you can’t.

[bigbang101]

Examples!

[nerms123]

Table vs values

[Avicenna]

That can be a judgement call.

[13IsALuckyNumber]

The im at the beginning of immaterial.

[sheepdip]

Immaterial things don't exist.

[Wheelchairsex]

I have absolutely no idea