If we are essentially material, if everything we do is determined by material causation, does that leave any room for freedom?

如果我们的本质是物质，如果我们所做的事都依赖于物质的因果关系，那还有什么自由空间可言么？

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In his book Cosmos, the late scientist Carl Sagan talks about the way in which the earth is regularly struck by material from outer space.

已故科学家卡尔·萨根在著作《宇宙》中叙述了外太空物体如何有规律和地球发生碰撞。

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It may be that the itching is caused by contact with irritant material.

那儿的痒也许是由于接触刺激物而引起的。

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He said about one hundred kilograms of water had been found in the material ejected by the moon crash.

VOA: special.2009.12.30

They're actively engaged in the material, actually seeing the phenomena, by making measurements of real world experiments.

学生们能自主地参与到物质中，看见真切的现象，通过对真实世界实验,做出测量。

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If the soul is immaterial, doesn't it follow automatically, trivially, that the soul can't be destroyed by a material process?

如果灵魂是无形的,是否可以顺理成章地得出,灵魂无法被实体过程所摧毁呢

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They were certainly motivated by material desires, but perhaps by psychological ones as well.

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But his readers are entitled to an honest presentation of the facts, not a series of falsehoods buttressed by material omissions.

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Scientists are excited about that because the first sample could have been tainted by material analyzed at a different site on Mars.

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