The Proposition of Physicalism
Physicalism proposes that physical reality is all there is. Our personalities are based in the constitution and operations of our brains and the body they occupy.
Physicalism is the metaphysical thesis that everything in the universe is physical, or supervenes on the physical, meaning there can be no change in the mental or social realms without a corresponding change in the physical. It asserts that only physical entities exist, making it a form of ontological monism that denies the existence of immaterial substances like souls.
Wikipedia
Inherent in Physicalist dogma is the denial of all abstract reality.
?, Well, what about scientific laws? You do believe in them, don’t you?
A, They too are physical.
?, Can you please hand me one. No you cannot, but can you point one out to me, show me the physical space it occupies.
A, I cannot. Scientific laws are part of physicality, but not distinct physical things.
?, But you talk about them as distinct things. You say they govern the operation of nature, and admit they have no actual physical substance, so they must be abstract and since they are real they must be abstract realities.
A, There is no such thing as abstract entities, Physicalist dogma forbids them.
?, Forbids seeing scientific laws as they are? Maybe we should quit denying abstract reality and concentrate on the relationship of abstract reality to physical reality because there always is one.
A, what about fiction?
Fiction cannot exist apart from the real world it dramatizes