a) Materialism is a theory incorporating several views from other theory sets. The basis of the overall theory is that all things are reducible to the material or physical in terms of bodies, elements or processes. In this, the theory resonates most closely with simplicity. No matter how complex a thing may seem, it is always reducible to the physical. The simplicity of materialism entails that it does not sympathize with complex systems of dualism, philosophy or faith that might include abstract or spiritual terms. It denies the realism of spiritual entities by reducing them to the physical processes of the human mind. For the materialist, all things spring from a single, material source. It is through physical human brain processes that spiritual ideals and entities exist. This coincides with Descartes' idea that all that exists can be connected to the human perception through the five senses. Scientific evidence is often used as support for the materialistic system of thought. It is this association with science, as well as the simplicity of reductionism according to which materialism operates, have attracted a number of philosophers, including Descartes.

             b) The explanatory impotence of duality is often used to further the cause of Materialism. A fourteenth century Monk, William Ockham, used the principle of unnecessary plurality in religious debates. The claim was that, the higher the evolution of an entity, the fewer the elements needed for perfect knowledge. The basis of this argument was therefore religion instead of materialism. According to Ockham, in order to know perfectly, a person must not be overly concerned with dualistic arguments. In terms of materialism, the same principle is used to connect to the simplicity of materialism. Dualism is unnecessary, because it complicates matters that are otherwise simplified by materialism. Materialism strives for the simplicity of reductionist monism.