Incumbent Paradigm · Medical Philosophy · Phase 2: Early Strain

The Materialist Assumption

The body as machine. Consciousness as epiphenomenon. 400 years of Cartesian dualism. The operating system nobody questions.

M31 Capital · February 2026
Phase 2
Status: Early Strain
2/5
Forces Under Pressure
400yr
Age of Paradigm
Decades
Timeline to Break

The materialist model is the operating system beneath all the other paradigms. It assumes the body is a machine, consciousness is a byproduct of brain computation, and health is the absence of measurable malfunction. The strain is showing.

The Strain Points

ACE studies: emotional trauma becomes physical disease. Psychoneuroimmunology: mental states modulate immune function. Placebo effect: belief produces measurable physiological changes. Psychedelic research: consciousness-altering experiences produce durable changes in brain structure. None compatible with strict materialism. But the system has no framework for integrating them.

Five Forces Assessment
Scientific ValidityPressure — PNI, ACE studies creating anomalies
Cultural LegitimacyPressure — growing interest in consciousness
Economic ViabilityHolding — pharmaceutical model depends on materialism
Institutional IntegrityHolding — medical education fully materialist
Regulatory CaptureHolding — evidence hierarchy assumes materialism
M31 Assessment

The Deepest Paradigm, the Slowest Shift

Phase 2 — early strain with decades of runway. Not directly investable, but essential for understanding why the system resists. Monitor. Invest in the cracks.