Corvus+2014-15+Naturalism


 * Historical by Haley Stamper **

The philosophy of naturalism is interwoven through history. Today naturalism is defined as the belief that “reality is exhausted by nature, containing nothing ‘supernatural’, and that the scientific method should be used to investigate all areas of reality, including the ‘human spirit’ ” (stanford.edu). Today, naturalists believe in the natural world and laws that govern all of nature, including humans, without any thought for humanity or intervention by gods. However, naturalism began in ancient Greece when the philosopher Thales came to see the world as “ the entirety of the natural world as a realm of insensate matter and impersonal forces that operate independently of human or supernatural volition” (Prado). This was further expanded upon by Protagoras who claimed that knowledge could exist independent of gods through critical thought and discourse. Roman society also furthered the philosophy of naturalism indirectly through the belief that a healthy society functions in tandem with nature (Prado). The Scientific Revolution then brought not the development but the justification of naturalism. When Newton said “F=m*a” he began the ever expanding explanation of “why everything in the visible universe happens in the order and manner that it does” (Prado). Through further discoveries about natural processes men began to understand the world. And so with all this history behind it naturalism formed into a philosophy, made popular again in 20th century, that states that there are laws that govern all of nature, including humans, without any thought for humanity or intervention by gods.

Sources: “Naturalism”. Stanford.edu. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 22 February 2007. Web. 29 October 2014. Prado, Ignacio. “A Brief History of Scientific Naturalism”. Naturalism.org. June 2006. Web. 29 October 2014.


 * Cultural by Justine Chavez **
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All science today revolves on principles of naturalism. Naturalism is understanding disease, war, famine, crime, insanity, slavery, women's equality and poverty by social hierarchy which arises from supernatural explanations. For example, Charles Darwins book Origin of species in 1859 that gave the world information on the theory of natural selection (Naturalism.org). Meaning, humans can't control how animals change physically from being a pet or in the wild. All animals change because of the different enviorment they are in. From Darwin’s experiences, he has showed birds with short beaks different survive as long as the one with longer beaks. This is because the short beak birds couldn't reach down into the large flowers with the food they need to survive. From natural selections the short beaks birds were eliminated until they adapted to have longer beaks and compete with the other birds.The scientific method have been around for a long time but the views on this idea are being debated in today’s society. Society’s judgment is surrounded by technology which allows us to create different hypothesis about how thing came to be a certain way (Centerfornaturalism.org). Society believes that whatever we do connects ourselves to the rest of the world. Naturalism will continue to shape society as we gain knowledge about what naturally happens.

Sources: Prado, Ignacio. “A Brief History of Scientific Naturalism” Naturalism.org. Web. 29 October 2014

A Guide to Naturalism. “Center for Naturalism” centerfornaturalism.org. Web. 29 October 2014

**Aim by Jack Gillette**



Naturalism is a metaphysical theory that holds that all phenomena can be explained mechanistically in terms of natural as opposed to supernatural) causes and laws. As described by one of the most famous Naturalists in history, “Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect” (Emerson). Naturalism posits that the universe is a vast "machine" or "organism," devoid of general purpose and indifferent to human needs and desires. The deistic founders of the United States of America were advocates of naturalism. Deism admits a transcendent creator of the universe but denies that the creator interferes with nature. Hence, understanding any god is unnecessary to understanding the world. Naturalism does not deny the existence of any god, either as transcendent or immanent. George Santayana once wrote, “My atheism...is true piety towards the universe and denies only gods fashioned by men in their own image, to be servants of their human interests” (Soliloquies in England). However, naturalism makes a god an unnecessary hypothesis and essentially superfluous to scientific investigation. Reference to moral or divine purposes has no place in scientific explanations. On the other hand, the scope of science is limited to explanation of empirical phenomena without reference to forces, powers, or influences that are supernatural.The main difference between naturalistic and supernaturalistic views in Western philosophy (and the definitive distinction in Do Androids Dream) might best be understood by noting that the former favors mechanistic explanations, while the latter favors teleological ones.

"Naturalism." wikipedia.org. Web. 29 October 2014

"Naturalism." iep.utm.edu. Web. 29 October 2014.


 * __Audience by Jay Chambers:__ **



Naturalism is the belief that everything comes for natural properties and causes, and the supernatural is excluded. Supporters of naturalism declare that the natural laws govern the structure/behavior of the natural universe, meaning that naturalism is causing universal changes. According to this article, This relates to Philip Dick’s writings because he wrote his views of America during that era naturalistically. In the article, it states that “The philosophy of mind is another area in which naturalistic views have been prominent and highly controversial in recent times” (Internet Encyclopedia). What this means is that naturalistic views of the philosophical mind have been controversial and prominent to many. Speaking of which, the audience of naturalism are the ones who study social sciences/ natural sciences. The reason why is because they understand more about the concepts more than everyone else. To be more in-depth, “many theorists hold that the categories, concepts, and vocabulary needed to explain consciousness, experience, thought, and language are those of the natural sciences (and perhaps some of the social sciences, understood naturalistically)” [Internet Encyclopedia]. Basically, categories, concepts, and vocabulary are needed to explain that consciousness, experience, thought, and language are the basis of natural sciences. Naturalism tends to lead people to understanding the concepts of the science of life. It tends to be very complex.

"Naturalism." iep.utm.edu. Web. 29 October 2014.

"Naturalism." wikipedia.org. Web. 29 October 2014