Materialism
The philosophical theory that holds that the only thing that exists is matter. Fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena (including consciousness) are the result of material interactions; therefore, matter is the only substance.

Mechanism
A system of parts working together in a machine.

Meme
A postulated unit or element of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which is transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena.

Miracle
A suspension of the laws of nature, presumably actuated by a supernatural being.

Monism
The doctrine that only one supreme being exists.

Moore's Law
A long-term trend in the history of computing hardware. The number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit has doubled approximately every two years. The trend has continued for more than half a century and is not expected to stop until 2015 or later.

Moral Relativism
The position that the truth or falsity of moral judgments is not objective. Justifications for moral judgments are not universal, but are instead relative to the traditions, convictions, or practices of an individual or a group of people.

Mysterianism
The philosophical position proposing that we do not know and can never know the nature of consciousness.

Naturalism
A philosophical viewpoint that "nature is all there is, and all basic truths are truths of nature." All things and powers commonly regarded as supernatural, for example, God, souls and witchcraft, are asserted to be nonexistent.

Natural Selection
The process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. The theory of its action was first fully expounded by Charles Darwin and is now believed to be the main process that brings about evolution.

Nihilism
The rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless and that nothing in the world has a real existence.

Ontology
The philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality in general, as well as of the basic categories of being and their relations.

Operationalism
The view that we do not know the meaning of a concept unless we have a method of measurement for it.