Naturalism
1. There is no God. Prime reality is matter/energy. Matter/energy exists eternally and is all there
is. (Carl Sagan, The Cosmos, “The cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be.”) Or,
matter/antimatter were separated in a singularity (particle physics). There are not two things,
matter and mind, or matter and spirit, only one thing, matter and energy in complex
mathematical relationships.
2. The cosmos exists as a uniformity of cause and effect in a closed system. It is not open to
reordering from the outside, or by autonomous human beings, because there is nothing outside
the system. Jesus Christ is the product of evolution, just like the rest of us. Miracles can't
happen, because there is nothing outside the cosmos to make them happen. If you see
something that looks like a miracle, you just don't have all the data to understand what
happened naturally. Life evolved from non-life, and all life, including humans, evolved with no
plan or design. Evolution is not directed by any God or superior intellect. It is on its own, and
is the answer to everything about life.
3. Humans are complex machines, personality is chemical and mechanical, mind is a function of
our physical makeup. We have a sense of free will, and responsibility for our actions, but we
can't really change the cosmos. Humans are part of the cosmos, just matter/energy, and the laws
of matter/energy apply to us. We are accidental, the unplanned result of evolution, the survival
of the fittest. We have no “self,” no “soul,” no “mind” apart from our physical bodies and
brains. Humans are special among animals because we have conceptual thought, speech,
culture, moral capacity, and reason. These make us valuable, at least to other humans.
4. Death is extinction of personality and individuality. It is the end of that human. “Self” does not
survive the death of the body. Your existence ends at death. Nagel, “Human destiny is an
episode between two oblivions.”
5. Through our reason, including science, we can know the universe. The universe is in its normal
state. Reason and cognition are the product of evolution. Human knowledge is the product of
natural human reason grounded in its ability to reach the truth about human beings and the
cosmos. There is no explanation for reason being able to result in truth, the way reality really
is. Reason and cognition are just there, part of evolved human beings, accidental and
unplanned, but useful nonetheless.
6. Ethics are constructed and changed by human beings, and are relative, autonomous, and
situational. Human life has meaning because we create our futures. All people have a sense of
moral values. Human survival is the most important value. Ethics are personal. People have
dignity because we are the special product of evolution. Human survival is the prime good.
Some things are really wrong, like burning live babies, starving the poor, racial genocide, rape,
murder, massacre of the defenseless, slavery, torture, greed, betrayal, cowardice, buying and
selling women and children. There was no “right and wrong” before humans decided what was
right and wrong. Consciousness and self-determination are necessary for ethics. This means
people have personality. Moral values derive their source from human experience. But how?
How do you get from what is to what ought to be? Whatever promotes harmony in a culture—
group approved, survival-promoting action. To a naturalist, ethics is an affirmation of what is
“right” in the face of a cosmos that is merely there, and has no value in itself. Therefore, ethics
are personal and chosen. (Even theists should not be surprised by the fact that we can learn
moral truth from observation of humans, for if people are made in the image of God, then they
should still reflect—even if dimly—something of the goodness of God.)
7. History is a linear stream of cause and effect, but no purpose. Evolution has no goal. Humans
are the result of pure chance, the accidental result of evolution. Humans are self-conscious, and
special, because we can consider, decide, and act. History has no goal, and only the meaning
people attribute when they look back. When people eventually disappear, human history
disappears, and natural history goes on. Natural history started with the origin of the cosmos,
the Big Bang, and there are no satisfactory theories to explain the “Big Bang.” It doesn't matter.
Natural history began with the cosmos, and will end with the cosmos.
8. There are no “core” commitments. Each individual is free to chose whatever commitment they
want, or no commitment at all. Justice and fairness are ideological inventions. Naturalists may
choose to serve their community, or to promote human flourishing, but they will certainly not
choose to live in any way to please any God or gods.
Naturalism in practice:
Nazi Germany
Marxism in Soviet Russia (religion is the opiate of the people). In the past, one social class overthrew
another and then became the oppressor. Selfishness and greed are the product of scarcity and class
division. Human beings are fundamentally good if they have the right environment. So, the revolt of
the proletariat will be a majority, result in material abundance, making people less competitive, finding
fulfillment in working for the good of others, causing a new and higher form of human life to emerge
(evolve). But what happened? The new ruling class was the political leadership, and it became the
oppressor, manipulating the system for their own selfish benefit. Perhaps the problem with human
nature lies deeper than Marx thought.
Naturalism in the university: dominant, provides the framework for most scientific study. Why?
Naturalism gives the impression of being honest and objective. One is asked to accept only what
appears to be based on facts. Second, it appears to be coherent, with no god, no spirit, no miracles, no
life beyond the grave, humans as the makers of their own value.
Criticisms of Naturalism:
One lesson of history is that humans are very inventive in finding ways to manipulate any system for
their own selfish benefit. Naturalism is attractive because it looks honest and objective. It appears
coherent. We can control and alter our own evolution. BUT, does naturalism give an adequate reason
for us to consider ourselves valuable? Unique, maybe, but gorillas are unique. And if my brain is the
product of chance, how can I trust my reasoning ability?
1. Human value and human dignity, to a Christian theist, derive from the image of God in each
person. Human value and dignity, to a naturalist, is problematic, since we are accidental.
2. If we are accidental, the result of survival of the fittest, how can we trust our cognition to lead
to truth? We could expect our cognition to be good for survival, but why good for mathematics,
perception of beauty, and truth?
3. If we are accidental, and the universe is amoral, how do we get what we “ought” to do from
how nature actually is? We are moral beings in an amoral universe. Why?
Most naturalists are very moral people. The problem is not that moral values are not recognized, but
that they have no basis. The world is merely there. It does not provide humanity with a sense of
“oughtness.” So which values are the true values, or the higher values? Moral values are relative to
the culture. But one tribe may conduct religious wars to spread its values. What shall we say to white
racists who own rental property in the city when a black person attempts to rent their property? No one
can avoid acting as if moral values exist and as if there is some bar of justice that measures guilt by
objective standards. But if there is no bar of justice, we are left not in sin, but in guilt.