Philosophical Shortcomings of Methodological Naturalism and the Path Forward Cover Image

Filozoficzne wady naturalizmu metodologicznego i perspektywy na przyszłość
Philosophical Shortcomings of Methodological Naturalism and the Path Forward

Author(s): Jonathan Bartlett
Contributor(s): Dariusz Sagan (Translator)
Subject(s): History of Philosophy, Philosophical Traditions
Published by: Instytut Filozofii, Uniwersytet Zielonogórski
Keywords: methodological naturalism; mechanical philosophy; positivism; pragmatism; divine incomprehensibility; teleology; methodological framework

Summary/Abstract: Methodological naturalism, when used to enforce an exclusive view of scientific investigation, is based on three problematic streams of philosophy: mechanical philosophy, positivistic epistemology, and divine incomprehensibility. Each of these philosophies has inherent flaws that prevent them from being usable across the entirety of causal relationships that science attempts to investigate. However, even in the face of such criticisms, methodological naturalism as a methodology does have some positive features that should be retained even if methodological naturalism itself is not.

  • Issue Year: 2017
  • Issue No: 14
  • Page Range: 53-87
  • Page Count: 35
  • Language: English, Polish