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'''Philosophical naturalism''' asserts that the [[Nature|natural world]] is all there is.  It is also called metaphysical naturalism and ontological naturalism. It is a [[logic]]al result (but not a necessary result

'''Philosophical naturalism''' asserts that the [[Nature|natural world]], as perceived by the five senses of mankind, is all there is.  It is also called metaphysical naturalism and ontological naturalism. It is a [[logic]]al result (but not a necessary result<ref>"necessary": absolutely needed; essential; indispensable; inevitable; requisite</ref><ref name=dictionary>Definitions in footnote used in this article, unless otherwise attributed, are drawn from ''The Reader's Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary, including Funk & Wagnalls Standard College Dictionary'', 1966, The Readers's Digest Association, Pleasantville, New York. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 66-21606.</ref>) of [[methodological naturalism]], the doctrine which assumes ''[[a priori]]''<ref>"a priori": "'''1'''. ''Logic'' Proceeding, as an argument, from cause to effect, or from an assumption to its logical conclusion: opposed to ''a posteriori''. '''2'''. Prior to, and thus independent of, experience; innate. '''3'''. Previous to examination, or with insufficient examination. [< L, from what is before]" The Readers Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary (1966) p. 72b | a priori</ref> ("from the first" or "from the beginning") that there is no way to contact, detect, or otherwise [[Empiricism|empirically]] observe the [[supernatural]]. While most [[Philosophy of science|philosophers of science]] adhere strictly to this view and positively deny that any supernatural or [[Miracle|miraculous]] effects or forces are possible, a small minority of them also believe that the [[reality]] of [[existence]] includes ''invisible, supernatural and immaterial reality or realities'' and that there are other ways of knowing the supernatural besides empirical observation.

<ref>"necessary": absolutely needed; essential; indispensable; inevitable; requisite</ref><ref name=dictionary>Definitions in footnote used in this article, unless otherwise attributed, are drawn from ''The Reader's Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary, including Funk & Wagnalls Standard College Dictionary'', 1966, The Readers's Digest Association, Pleasantville, New York. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 66-21606.</ref>) of [[methodological naturalism]], the doctrine which assumes ''[[a priori]]''<ref>"a priori": "'''1'''. ''Logic'' Proceeding, as an argument, from cause to effect, or from an assumption to its logical conclusion: opposed to ''a posteriori''. '''2'''. Prior to, and thus independent of, experience; innate. '''3'''. Previous to examination, or with insufficient examination. [< L, from what is before]" The Readers Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary (1966) p. 72b | a priori</ref> ("from the first" or "from the beginning") that there is no way to contact, detect, or otherwise [[Empiricism|empirically]] observe the [[supernatural]]. While most [[Philosophy of science|philosophers of science]] adhere strictly to this view and positively deny that any supernatural or [[Miracle|miraculous]] effects or forces are possible, a small minority of them also believe that the [[reality]] of [[existence]] includes ''invisible, supernatural and immaterial reality or realities'' and that there are other ways of knowing the supernatural besides empirical observation.

 

Believers in philosophical naturalism assume that man has evolved to perceive all that exists, although there is no empirical or logical basis for this belief.  Indeed, physicists generally believe in the existence of some kind of "[[dark matter]]" beyond perception.

Philosophical naturalists go one step beyond methodological naturalism and reject the existence of the supernatural altogether, citing "an utter lack of empirical [[evidence]]." They maintain that only natural forces can affect things natural and make changes in nature, and only according to the [[Physics|laws of nature]], "''the laws of nature''" being both those laws discovered by science to be operating in nature and those laws not yet discovered but which will be discovered in the future. Philosophical naturalism is therefore a [[philosophy]] of acquiring knowledge. Because of their insistence that there is an utter lack of scientific (''empirical'') evidence to support [[religion]], most philosophical naturalists are also [[Atheism|atheists]].

Philosophical naturalists go one step beyond methodological naturalism and reject the existence of the supernatural altogether, citing "an utter lack of empirical [[evidence]]." They maintain that only natural forces can affect things natural and make changes in nature, and only according to the [[Physics|laws of nature]], "''the laws of nature''" being both those laws discovered by science to be operating in nature and those laws not yet discovered but which will be discovered in the future. Philosophical naturalism is therefore a [[philosophy]] of acquiring knowledge. Because of their insistence that there is an utter lack of scientific (''empirical'') evidence to support [[religion]], most philosophical naturalists are also [[Atheism|atheists]].