# If Matter Is a Product of Consciousness Physicalism May Fail by Donald D. Hoffman > “If matter is but one of the humbler products of consciousness, then we should expect that consciousness itself cannot be theoretically derived from matter. The mind-body problem will be to physicalist ontology what black-body radiation was to classical mechanics: first a goad to its heroic defense, later the provenance of its final supersession.” > **— Donald D. Hoffman**, *2005, Edge Annual Question, “What Do You Believe Is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Cognitive Scientist, UC, Irvine; Author, Visual Intelligence](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/10930) — Edge published this exact passage in its 2005 Annual Question collection, *WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE IT?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2005 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2005 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the complete response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Article:** [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Host Infrastructure Overview]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Consciousness|Consciousness]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Consciousness|Consciousness]] - [[wiki/Sentience|Sentience]] - [[wiki/Self-Awareness|Self-Awareness]] - [[wiki/Substrate Independence|Substrate Independence]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “If matter is but one of the humbler products of consciousness, then we should expect that consciousness itself cannot be theoretically derived from matter. The mind-body problem will be to physicalist ontology what black-body radiation was to classical mechanics: first a goad to its heroic defense, later the provenance of its final supersession.” — Donald D. Hoffman, 2005, Edge Annual Question, “What Do You Believe Is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-donald-hoffman-if-matter-product-consciousness-physicalism ```