Naturalism is a philosophical approach that holds that the natural world is all that exists and that all phenomena can be explained by natural causes and laws. This approach is opposed to any form of supernaturalism, such as the belief in God or spiritual forces. Naturalism is often associated with materialism, which is the belief that only physical matter exists. Naturalism has been advocated by many philosophers, including Hobbes, Hume, and Spinoza (Habermas, 2017).
Naturalism is often used to explain scientific phenomena, such as the evolution of species. According to this view, all of the diversity of life can be explained by the natural forces of mutation and selection. Naturalism is also used to explain the origin of the universe, which is thought to have originated from a single event, often referred to as the Big Bang (Larson & Witham, 1998).
Naturalism is sometimes used to explain the workings of the human mind. Many psychologists and philosophers have argued that human behavior can be explained by natural processes, such as evolutionary psychology or cognitive science (Buss, 2019). This view is sometimes referred to as methodological naturalism, which is the view that scientific inquiry should only use natural explanations.
Naturalism has been criticized by many religious thinkers, who argue that it fails to account for the existence of God or any form of supernatural force (Plantinga, 2011). It has also been criticized by some philosophers, who argue that it fails to provide a satisfying explanation of certain phenomena, such as consciousness or free will (Chalmers, 1996).
References
Buss, D. (2019). Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind. Fifth Edition. Routledge.
Chalmers, D. (1996). The conscious mind: In search of a fundamental theory. Oxford University Press.
Habermas, G. (2017). Naturalism. In E. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/naturalism/
Larson, E. J. & Witham, L. (1998). Leading scientists still reject God. Nature, 394(6691), 313.
Plantinga, A. (2011). Where the conflict really lies: Science, religion, and naturalism. Oxford University Press.