Definition
Naturalism is the view that the natural world is all there is, and that every phenomenon — physical, biological, and mental — can in principle be explained by natural causes operating under natural law. There is, on this account, no separate supernatural realm of gods, spirits, or non-physical souls.
Philosophers often distinguish two strands. Metaphysical naturalism is the claim that nature is all that exists. Methodological naturalism is the more limited working assumption that inquiry should appeal only to natural causes, without taking a stand on whether anything else exists. The natural sciences operate by methodological naturalism whether or not their practitioners hold the metaphysical view.
Why it matters
How it works
A naturalist explains the cosmos, life, and mind as products of natural processes — physical law, chemistry, and evolution by natural selection. Where a supernaturalist might invoke a creator or a soul, the naturalist looks for a mechanism within nature, or treats the question as still open to natural inquiry.
Dawkins draws on naturalism when he argues that natural selection removes the need for a designer to explain biological complexity. He treats unexplained phenomena as invitations to further investigation rather than as evidence of the supernatural. Defenders of supernaturalism reply that some questions — why there is anything at all — may lie beyond what natural explanation can reach.