Contextual Material Pragmatism (CMP)’s position on epistemology, ontology, conceptualization, symbolization, referentialization, and pragmatism can be outlined as follows:

1. Epistemology: CMP takes an empiricist stance, stating that all knowledge begins with sense experience. Sense data itself is meaningless until processed by the brain through mental processes. This embodied experience connects knowledge directly to material reality. Knowledge, therefore, is a function of sensory input and the brain’s ability to interpret it, grounded in material processes rather than speculative or metaphysical claims.

2. Ontology: CMP’s ontology begins with the statement, “There are things, inferred space, and inferred time,” asserting that material reality precedes knowledge. Existence itself has no properties—it simply is. Ontology in CMP is rooted in direct material presence, with reality defined as the totality of things. Conceptual and symbolic systems are overlays created by material objects that can process sense data and produce thought.

3. Conceptualization: Conceptualization is the brain’s process of organizing sensory data into internal representations. It begins with material reality but allows beings, particularly humans, to abstract from the physical. Animals like dogs are capable of conceptualization but not symbolization. CMP emphasizes that concepts are created and grounded in the physical experiences of sensing and thinking beings.

4. Symbolization: Symbolization is distinct from conceptualization in that it involves systemic processes that transcend individual experience. Humans, as symbolizing beings, use symbols to share and scale conceptualization, allowing for abstract thought and communication. Symbols act as containers of meaning that are projected and referred back to material or abstract concepts. Symbolic reality does not exist independently but is constructed by physical beings.

5. Referentialization: Referentialization involves the process of anchoring meaning to material reality or concepts through symbols. CMP holds that referents can be physical entities or non-physical entities, but all meaning is ultimately grounded in material existence. Objects themselves serve as their own identifiers, and ostension (pointing to the object) is the ultimate method for addressing particulars.

6. Pragmatism: CMP adopts a pragmatic approach by emphasizing the usefulness of concepts, symbols, and systems in addressing reality. It rejects speculative philosophy, instead focusing on practical, material grounding. Even concepts deemed unuseful can serve a point. Pragmatism in CMP is an applied philosophy (Material Pragmatism) built on the descriptive groundwork of Contextual Materialism. Reality is viewed through material utility, with thought and symbols serving contextual and practical ends.

CMP integrates these elements into a cohesive philosophy that prioritizes material reality as the foundation for all processes, while acknowledging the flexibility of conceptual and symbolic systems to serve practical functions.