Naturalism

Naturalism is one of those schools of thought among the American philosophical tradition that enjoys, first and foremost, a general lack of consensus by its creators. It seems that almost from the beginning of the naturalist school, the individuals creating and defining the subject delighted in their own vagueness. As a result, it became almost immediately necessary for naturalists to branch off into their groups, with one dominant influence governing their interpretation of what naturalism meant.

Among the commonalities most of these naturalist philosophies share, a commitment to empiricism is at the forefront. Beyond that, a general acknowledgment in the role of the sciences in understanding the complex laws by which the universe operates, seems to be the unifying strand in naturalist thought. Naturalists such as Dewey and Santayana illustrate the general schism within naturalism in their opposing viewpoints, which of course are meticulously catalogued in their own numerous volumes of published work on the topic. These in turn, were meticulously scrutinized in various published articles, by each opposing camp. Ahh, the hallmarks of a true philosophical argument. The central factor in the division of naturalism would appear to be the place of man within the philosophy. Dewey, a pragmatist, placed nature within the context of human interest. Santayana, conversely, wasn't quite willing to give man the benefit of the doubt on that one. Frederick Woodbridge, another contributor to the general naturalist argument, attempted to unite these viewpoints by arguing in favor of a sort of man/nature reciprocity arrangement.

Naturalism thus serves as an interesting chapter in American philosophy primarily because it illustrates how numerous individuals, influences by countless other philosophical traditions, can collectively take the foundations of an idea an attempt to collaborate, in building with completely different materials.

Upon the subject of dating the beginnings of American philosophy, enjoy a brief and obvious argument in favor of political correctness: If American philosophy is to include at least some acknowledgment, even if just a slight nod, to Native American traditions, then dating its origins to anywhere near American independence is quite flawed.