This major collection, the first of its kind, explores the fascinating philosophical history of materialism, from the ancient world to the twenty-first century. Comprising thirty-one chapters by an international team of contributors, key topics are covered, including: materialism in classical Greece, India and China, and Aztec metaphysics; Renaissance materialism and anti-materialism; materialism and Islamic philosophy; materialism in the French and German Enlightenment; atheism and materialism; nineteenth-century materialist controversies and debates in physics; Marxism and materialism; physicalism; and the new materialism.