Somatism suggests that in some Indian philosophical systems 'spiritual' phenomena are treated as bodily substances, and psychological and epistemological processes are interpreted as mechanical and dynamic modifications occurring in the substance of the soul and the mind. In this context Somatism as a more appropriate denotation than materialism，since it does not preclude philosophical speculations of idealistic or transcendental character. As examples of somatistic treatment are adduced speculations on time in some Vedic and Buddhist literature，action (karman) in the "Vedas, " the "upanisads" and some jaina treatises; and processes of creation and evolution in the samkhya system.
