naturalism

noun [ˈnætʃɚəˌlɪzəm]

pronunciation

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, open source

Naturalism names a doctrine or stance that explains the world, human beings and norms within nature and its laws alone, without appeal to supernatural intervention.

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Definitions

A philosophical doctrine or stance under which existing phenomena find their explanation in nature and in the laws that operate within it, not in supernatural agency (the classic contrast with views that assume intervention beyond the order of nature).

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As a typology label: a materialist strand (matter and mechanical laws only), a monist or pantheizing strand (one substance without a transcendent cause), or a strand accepting a personal First Cause while ruling out miracles, revelation and a lasting supernatural order for humankind.

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Editorial team; facts: C. A. Dubray, Naturalism, The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 10, open source
In literature and the arts: a programme of faithful, often experimental rendering of reality without embellishment or idealisation (a school linked in nineteenth-century registers with Zola and Maupassant).

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Editorial team; facts: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 (Naturalism), open source
In law and social ethics: a stance that derives norms or their justification from human nature or from the order of nature (natural law), as against bare legal positivism grounded only in enacted law.

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In everyday and publicistic talk: a loose label for "what is natural, without miracles and without idealisation", often without separating philosophy, literature and law.

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Examples

The seminar opened by separating philosophical naturalism from literary naturalism: the first concerns the limits of explanation, the second an artistic programme.

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Her handbook lined naturalism up against supernaturalism, marking where a description of the laws of nature ends.

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In the history of literature course he stressed that Zola's naturalism leans on observation and character analysis rather than on embellishing reality.

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The legal commentator warned that naturalism in a natural-law debate is not the same as materialist naturalism in metaphysics.

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She weighed methodological naturalism against appeals to miracle, asking where explanation inside nature stops and talk of supernatural agency begins.

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Usage

Everyday English often treats naturalism as a tag for "laws of nature only, no miracles" or for "literature without embellishment". Academic prose stays clearer when layers stay apart: a thesis that explanation closes within nature; materialist and monist varieties; a deist-leaning stance without intervention; a literary programme; and the natural-law thread. State plainly which layer you mean. Otherwise the word melts into atheism, materialism, literary realism, positivism and a mere dislike of speculation.

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Webster 1913 under Naturalism records Cf. F. naturalisme. Senses include a state of nature; denial of supernatural agency in miracles and revelations; a system that refers phenomena to blind force under fixed laws without one intelligent will; and a literary programme linked to Zola and Maupassant. Naturalist names a student of nature or an adherent. Skeat 1910 under NATURE derives nature from F. nature and L. natura (natus from nasci) and lists natur-al-ism among derivatives. Open lemmas supply the lexical facts; wording here is written separately.

source

Editorial team; facts: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913; W. W. Skeat, An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, 1910, open source

Catholic Encyclopedia (Naturalism, C. A. Dubray) treats the label less as one closed system than as a shared point of view: nature is the original source of what exists, and events find explanation inside nature itself. Three forms appear: materialist (matter only, mechanical laws); monist or pantheizing (one substance, no transcendent cause); and a personal First Cause that still bars interference with natural laws (near deism and rationalism). Miracles, revelation and a lasting supernatural order are rejected. That outline is CE history, not this site's definition.

source

Editorial team; facts: C. A. Dubray, Naturalism, The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 10, Robert Appleton Company, New York 1911 (Wikisource: Catholic Encyclopedia 1913), open source

Frequent pairings are philosophical naturalism, literary naturalism, methodological naturalism, critique of naturalism, and defence of naturalism. As a noun naturalist labels a student of nature or someone who holds the view; naturalistic serves as the related adjective. Careful writers keep the lemma clear of supernaturalism (agency beyond nature), artistic idealisation, and (in another register) legal positivism when the topic is natural law. Borders still shift by author.

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Word forms

Regular English noun, usually uncountable; the plural naturalisms is rare and marks distinct kinds or historical versions of the stance.

word forms

przypadek	forma
singular	naturalism
plural	naturalisms

Word forms: Editorial team

Collocations

philosophical naturalism

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literary naturalism

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methodological naturalism

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critique of naturalism

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defence of naturalism

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Synonyms · Antonyms

Synonyms realism (Websterian literary register: art or literature should conform to nature; not a full synonym of the philosophical variety), deism limited to non-intervention (CE: third form close to Deism and Rationalism; not a full synonym), explanation closed within nature (narrower methodological register: laws of nature as adequate account; not a full synonym of every variety)

source

Editorial team; facts: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 (Naturalism: art or literature should conform to nature; realism), open source

Antonyms supernaturalism (Webster 1913 under Naturalism Metaph.: deny a supernatural agency), idealisation in art (literary contrast: naturalism without embellishment or idealising), Christian supernaturalism (CE: naturalism opposed to doctrines grounded in a supernatural order)

source

Editorial team; facts: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open source

Etymology

English naturalism joins the adjective natural to the -ism ending. Latin naturalis (from natura; natura from natus, the participle of nasci "to be born") passed through French naturel / naturalisme into English natural and naturalism. Webster 1913 opens Natural with OE. naturel, F. naturel, L. naturalis (See Nature). The Naturalism lemma points to French naturalisme and records a state-of-nature sense, a metaphysical denial of supernatural agency with laws that act of necessity, and a literary sense tied to Zola and Maupassant. Nature is traced to F. nature and L. natura. Skeat 1910 under NATURE records ME. nature, F. nature, L. natura and places natur-al-ism among the derivatives (with naturalist, naturalize, unnatural, supernatural). The Catholic Encyclopedia (C. A. Dubray) outlines three forms of naturalism. Our definition is written independently of those dictionary wordings. A related Polish noun is naturalizm.

source

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open source

also

W. W. Skeat, An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., Oxford 1910, open source

also

C. A. Dubray, Naturalism, The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 10, Robert Appleton Company, New York 1911 (Wikisource: Catholic Encyclopedia 1913), open source

Related words

naturalist , noun: student of nature; also adherent of the doctrine (Webster 1913 Naturalist)
naturalistic , adjective: conforming to naturalism (Webster 1913 Naturalistic)
natural , related adjective: from OE. naturel, F. naturel, L. naturalis (Webster 1913 Natural; Skeat 1910 NATURE)
nature , related base noun: F. nature, L. natura from natus / nasci (Webster 1913 Nature; Skeat 1910 NATURE)
supernaturalism , related noun (contrastive): agency beyond nature that naturalism denies as a criterion of explanation
naturalizm , etymologically related Polish noun

Related entries

Questions and answers

What does naturalism mean?

In philosophy it names the thesis that explanation closes within nature and its laws, without supernatural intervention. Typology covers materialist, monist and deist-leaning varieties. In literature it names faithful rendering of reality (notably Zola). In law and ethics it touches natural law against bare enacted law. Colloquially it often means any "what is natural" stance. Scope follows register.

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How does naturalism differ from materialism, deism and literary realism?

Materialism is one form of naturalism (matter and mechanical laws only). Naturalism also covers monism and God without intervention. Deism in CE sits near that third form: First Cause without miracles. Literary realism in Webster overlaps "art according to nature" yet does not exhaust the metaphysics. Casual talk blurs all four into "facts of nature alone".

source

Editorial team; facts: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913; C. A. Dubray, Naturalism, The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 10, open source

Where does the word naturalism come from?

It joins English natural (from French naturel and Latin naturalis, tied to natura / natus / nasci) to the -ism ending, with French naturalisme as a parallel. Webster 1913 records Natural, Nature, Naturalism and Naturalist. Skeat 1910 under NATURE lists natur-al-ism among the derivatives. The CE entry (Dubray) outlines three forms. The English lemma follows that Latin-French path.

source

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open source

What are the word forms of naturalism?

The noun is regular and usually uncountable: naturalism. A plural naturalisms is rare and marks distinct kinds or historical versions of the stance. Related forms include naturalist (student of nature and adherent), naturalistic and natural.

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