Naturalism

Naturalism is the term that summarizes the coherent philosophical application and generalization of the [Page 1694]methods and conclusions of the sciences. Naturalism is a tendency among thinkers, one that spans most disciplines of thought. Naturalism is not a closely defined school of philosophy, as materialism and idealism have tended to be. Thinkers identified as naturalist often have little else in common.

The principal feature that naturalist thinkers share is an appreciation of the value of grounding their methods in the sciences, because of the heightened chances of securing reliable information, which in turn yields reliable knowledge. Following the thoughts of Dale Riepe, we can make some more specific points: The naturalist places a high value on reason and sense experience as the most reliable avenues of knowledge; the naturalist believes that knowledge is not mystical, innate, or intuitive; the naturalist believes that the external world, of which humans are an integral part, is objective and therefore has existence apart from anyone's consciousness; and the naturalist believes that the world manifests order and regularity, and that, contrary to some opinions, this does not exclude human responsibility. This order cannot be changed merely by thought, magic, sacrifice, or prayer but requires the actual manipulation of the external world in some physical way. The naturalist also rejects supernatural teleology. The direction of the world is caused by the world itself. And finally, the naturalist is humanistic. Humans are not a mirror of some supernatural deity or absolute principle but a biological existent whose goal it is to do what is proper for humans' continued existence and fulfillment. These goals can be determined in a naturalistic context by the moral philosopher.

Dale Riepe's observations were made before embarking on a study of naturalism in Indian philosophy, which illustrates the cross-cultural and transnational nature of naturalism.

This understanding of naturalism involves the rejection of all manifestations of supernaturalism in their capacity as truth-claims on the grounds that they are often culturally specific, whereas naturalist claims are applicable to all nature. Furthermore, supernaturalist claims cannot be repeated, tested, or verified, and in the end, they rely upon mere assertion. However, this does not involve a complete rejection of supernaturalism as a factor worthy of consideration. Supernaturalism is a valid subject of study as a cultural phenomenon within naturalism—a way some people choose to interpret the universe. But it is not an alternative to naturalism.