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Naturalism is any of several philosophical stances, typically those descended from Materialism and Pragmatism , that do not distinguish the Supernatural (including strange entities like non-natural values, and universals as they are commonly conceived) from Nature . Naturalism does not necessarily claim that phenomena or hypotheses commonly labeled as Supernatural do not exist or are wrong, but insists that all phenomena and hypotheses can be studied by the same methods and therefore anything considered supernatural is either nonexistent, unknowable, or not inherently different from natural phenomena or hypotheses. Any method of inquiry or investigation or any procedure for gaining Knowledge that limits itself to natural, physical, and material approaches and explanations can be described as naturalistic. Many modern (March 7, 2006) use the terms ''methodological naturalism'' or ''scientific naturalism'' to refer to the long standing convention in Science of the Scientific Method , which makes the Methodological assumption that Observable effects in Nature are best explainable only by natural causes, without reference to, or an assumption of, the existence or non-existence of supernatural notions. They contrast this with the approach known as ''ontological naturalism'' or '' Metaphysical Naturalism '', which refers to the Metaphysical Belief that the natural world (including the universe) is all that exists, and therefore nothing Supernatural exists. This distinction between approaches to the philosophy of naturalism is made by philosophers supporting science and , Retrieved 2007-05-20 . These proponents of creationism use this assertion to support their claim that modern science is Atheist ic, and contrast it with their preferred approach of a revived Natural Philosophy which welcomes supernatural explanations for natural phenomena and supports " Theistic Science " or Pseudoscience . DEFINITION OF METHODOLOGICAL NATURALISM Methodological naturalism contrasted with metaphysical naturalism Metaphysical Naturalism , which is often called "philosophical naturalism" or "ontological naturalism", takes an Ontological approach to naturalism. Ontology is a branch of metaphysics that studies being, and so this is the view that the Supernatural does not exist, thus entailing Strong Atheism . In contrast, Methodological naturalism is, in the words of Steven D. Schaphersman, "the adoption or assumption of philosophical naturalism within Scientific Method with or without fully accepting or believing it … science is not metaphysical and does not depend on the ultimate truth of any metaphysics for its success (although science does have metaphysical implications), but methodological naturalism must be adopted as a strategy or working hypothesis for science to succeed. We may therefore be agnostic about the ultimate truth of naturalism, but must nevertheless adopt it and investigate nature as if nature is all that there is." Naturalism is an Essential Part of Science - Steven D. Schafersman Relationship to the supernatural This definition rules out recourse to the to extract his hero from a difficult predicament." Naturalism of this sort says nothing about the existence or nonexistence of the Supernatural which by this definition is beyond natural testing. Other philosophers of science hold that some supernatural explanations might be testable in principle, but are so unlikely, given past results, that resources should not be wasted exploring them. Either way, their rejection is only a practical matter, so it is possible to be a methodological naturalist and an Ontological Supernaturalist at the same time. For example, while natural scientists follow methodological naturalism in their scientific work, they may also believe in God ( Ontological Supernaturalism ), or they may be Metaphysical Naturalists and therefore atheists. This position does not preclude knowledge that derives from the study of what is hitherto considered supernatural, but considers that if such a phenomenon can be scientifically examined and explained naturally, it then ceases to be supernatural. Supporting statements Supporters of the alternatives to be "positively ineffective and counter-productive … in attempts to understand the natural world" {Link without Title} . The subject was given detailed attention during the '' United States federal court judge John E. Jones III concluded that "Methodological naturalism is a 'ground rule' of science today". This ruling sets a federal district judicial precedent in the context of legal restrictions on the teaching of religion in U.S. schools, and more broadly the memorandum sets out an impartial assessment of the evidence and arguments relating to the use in science of methodological naturalism as against supernatural explanations. HISTORY The ideas and assumptions of philosophical naturalism were first seen in the work's of the Ionian Pre-Socratic Philosophers . Particularly Thales , the man considered to be the father of science, as he was the first to give explanations of natural events without the use of supernatural causes. Jonathan Barnes 's introduction to Early Greek Philosophy (Penguin) describes these early philosophers as subscribing to principles of empirical investigation that strikingly anticipate naturalism. But the modern emphasis in methodological naturalism can be traced back more directly to the ideas of medieval Scholastic thinkers during the Renaissance Of The 12th Century : :By the late Middle Ages the search for Natural Causes had come to typify the work of Christian Natural Philosopher s. Although characteristically leaving the door open for the possibility of direct divine intervention, they frequently expressed contempt for soft-minded contemporaries who invoked miracles rather than searching for natural explanations. The University of Paris cleric Jean Buridan (a. 1295-ca. 1358), described as "perhaps the most brilliant arts master of the Middle Ages," contrasted the philosopher’s search for "appropriate natural causes" with the common folk’s erroneous habit of attributing unusual astronomical phenomena to the supernatural. In the fourteenth century the natural philosopher Nicole Oresme (ca. 1320-82), who went on to become a Roman Catholic Bishop , admonished that, in discussing various marvels of nature, "there is no reason to take recourse to the heavens, the last refuge of the weak, or demons, or to our glorious God as if He would produce these effects directly, more so than those effects whose causes we believe are well known to us." :Enthusiasm for the naturalistic study of nature picked up in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as more and more Christians turned their attention to discovering the so-called Secondary Cause s that God employed in operating the world. The Italian Catholic Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), one of the foremost promoters of the new philosophy, insisted that nature "never violates the terms of the laws imposed upon her." Ronald L. Numbers (2003). "Science without God: Natural Laws and Christian Beliefs." In: When Science and Christianity Meet, edited by David C. Lindberg, Ronald L. Numbers. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, p. 267. Isaac Newton , when asked about the lack of mention of God in his works on physics, is said to have replied, "Hyotheses non fingo." ("I do not make hypotheses.") Similarly, Pierre Simon De Laplace , when asked about the lack of mention of God in his work on Celestial Mechanics , is said to have replied, "I have no need of that Hypothesis ." During the Enlightenment , a number of Philosophers including Francis Bacon and Voltaire outlined the philosophical justifications for removing appeal to supernatural forces from investigation of the natural world. Subsequent Scientific Revolution s would remove much of the remaining theistic baggage from scientific investigation culminating in the development of modern Biology and Geology which rejected a literal interpretation of the prevailing Christian Origin Beliefs . For four centuries scientific research has never had to fall back on supernatural explanations for any phenomena within the reach of experiment and theory, in spite of recurring claims that some particular phenomenon cannot have a scientific explanation. This is a powerful set of evidence in favor of naturalism as a scientific theory in its own right. The term "methodological naturalism" for this approach is much more recent. According to in an article in ''The Philosophical Review'' as a contrast to "naturalism" in general, but there the idea was not really developed to its more recent distinctions. ASA March 2006 - Re: Methodological Naturalism In a series of articles and books from 1996 onwards, trial was cited by the Judge in his ''Memorandum Opinion'' concluding that "Methodological naturalism is a "ground rule" of science today" Apart from the creationist claims, the historical support of methodological naturalism by Christians is noted by Numbers: :Despite the occasional efforts of unbelievers to use scientific naturalism to construct a world without God, it has retained strong Christian support down to the present. And well it might, for (...) scientific naturalism was largely made in Christendom by pious Christians. Although it possessed the potential to corrode religious beliefs — and sometimes did so — it flourished among Christian scientists who believe that God customarily achieved his ends through natural causes. Numbers 2003, op cit, p. 284 NATURALISM AS EPISTEMOLOGY W. V. Quine describes naturalism as the position that there is no higher tribunal for truth than natural science itself. There is no better method than the scientific method for judging the claims of science, and there is neither any need nor any place for a "first philosophy", such as (abstract) Metaphysics or Epistemology , that could stand behind and justify science or the scientific method. Therefore, philosophy should feel free to make use of the findings of scientists in its own pursuit, while also feeling free to offer criticism when those claims are ungrounded, confused, or inconsistent. In this way philosophy becomes "continuous with" science. Naturalism is not a dogmatic belief that the modern view of science is entirely correct. Instead, it simply holds the processes of the universe have a scientific explanation, and those processes are what modern science is striving to understand. Philosophy Karl Popper equated naturalism with Inductive theory of science. He rejected it based on his general critique of induction (see Problem Of Induction ), yet acknowledged its utility as means for inventing conjectures. Popper instead proposed the criterion of Falsifiability for Demarcation . Contemporary philosopher Alvin Plantinga has Argued that evolutionary naturalism is incoherent. In ''Science and Theology News'' he attacks the conclusions of the Kitzmiller trial and suggests that the term " Science " denotes any activity that is: # a systematic and disciplined enterprise aimed at finding out truth about our world, and # has significant empirical involvement. Any activity that meets these vague conditions counts as science. He concludes "if you exclude the supernatural from science, then if the world or some phenomena within it are supernaturally caused – as most of the world's people believe – you won't be able to reach that truth scientifically." Creationism and intelligent design Supporters of Creationism claim that the possibility of supernatural action is unnecessarily excluded by the current practices and theories of science. Currently, proponents of Intelligent Design , who hold that certain features of the natural world are best explained as the results of intelligence, argue that the naturalist conception of reality is not needed in order to do Science . Their general criticism is that insisting that the natural world is a closed system of inviolable laws independent of Theism or supernatural intervention will cause science to come to incorrect conclusions and inappropriately exclude research that claims to include such ideas. The position that if a phenomenon can be scientifically examined and explained naturally it then ceases to be supernatural is disputed by SEE ALSO
NOTES AND REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS Supportive
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