naturalism

naturalism

English

Etymology

From natural +‎ -ism. Compare French naturalisme.

Noun

naturalism (countable and uncountable, plural naturalisms)

1. A state of nature; conformity to nature.
2. The doctrine that denies a supernatural agency in the miracles and revelations recorded in religious texts and in spiritual influences.
3. (philosophy) Any system of philosophy which refers the phenomena of nature as a blind force or forces acting necessarily or according to fixed laws, excluding origination or direction by a will.
4. (philosophy) A doctrine which denies a strong separation between scientific and philosophic methodologies and/or topics
5. (art) A movement in theatre, film, and literature that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality, as opposed to such movements as romanticism or surrealism, in which subjects may receive highly symbolic or idealistic treatment.
6. (nonstandard) naturism, nudism, social nudity.
   • 2002, Ishvara, Oneness in Living: Kundalini Yoga, the Spiritual Path, and the Intentional Community, p. 133:

     In most of the world nudity is prohibited. Where it is not, such as where "Nudism" and "Naturalism" prevails, it is usually the main thing going on.

   • 3 December 2002, Corey Michaels, "Area 51 Shocker" in Weekly World News:

     "In the early 1950s, naturalism was seriously studied by the U.S. military, the concept being that exercising in the nude, as the ancient Greek generals did, was good for both the body and the mind," Seacrest reveals.

   • 2013, Yunxiang Gao, Sporting Gender: Women Athletes and Celebrity-Making during China's National Crisis, 1931–45:

     Besides progressive trends from the West, defenders of naturalism also called attention to "primitive" minorities who, like innocent children, were construed as effortless practitioners of naturalism with physical strength and beauty.

Usage notes

• Referring to nudism or naturism as naturalism has been considered an error for several decades.

Translations

a state of nature; conformity to nature

Abkhaz: анатурализм (ānāṭurālizm) Czech: naturalismus m Danish: naturalisme c Dutch: naturalisme (nl) m Finnish: naturalismi Greek: φυσιοκρατία (el) f (fysiokratía) Hungarian: naturalizmus (hu) Ido: naturalismo (io) Italian: naturalismo (it) m

Norwegian: Bokmål: naturalisme m Nynorsk: naturalisme m Polish: naturalizm (pl) m Portuguese: naturalismo (pt) m Romanian: naturalism (ro) n Russian: натурали́зм (ru) m (naturalízm) Spanish: naturalismo m Volapük: natim

References

• naturalism in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Further reading

• "naturalism" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 216.