NATURALISM

SCIENCE

In philosophy and science, naturalism may refer to:

• Naturalism (philosophy) is any of several philosophical stances wherein all phenomena or hypotheses commonly labeled as supernatural, are either false or not inherently different from natural phenomena or hypotheses.
  • Methodological naturalism can mean simply that science is to be done without reference to supernatural causes. It can also be a methodological assumption in the philosophy of religion that observable events are fully explainable by natural causes without reference to the supernatural. Finally, it can mean that philosophy has the same basic aims and methods as natural science.
  • Metaphysical naturalism means that the cosmos consists only of objects studied by the natural sciences, and does not include any immaterial or intentional realities.
• Ethical naturalism, the theory that ethical terms can be defined in non-ethical terms
• Humanistic naturalism emphasises scientific reasoning as a basis for humane behavior.

• Sociological naturalism is the view that the natural world and the social world are roughly identical and governed by similar principles.
• Political naturalism is a politic and legal system based on the belief in the existence of a fair natural law.
• Naturalistic observation is an empirical method of study by which the researcher introduces no outside stimulus, instead witnessing behavior as it naturally occurs in the environment.
• Natural history, especially in older texts.