Is Naturalism an Ideology?

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Thomas J. Spiegel

Universität Potsdam

thomspiegel@uni-potsdam.de

Abstract:This paper argues that naturalism has a special logical status that differentiates it from other philosophical perspectives. Such a peculiar status can be grasped particularly by the expressions of the “worldview” and “ideology”. Indeed, naturalism is not just a purely philosophical thesis, but rather a current of thought that is interwoven in cultural and social processes in an unusual manner for a philosophical debate. The article proceeds as follows. Part 1 reconstructs the concept of naturalism as scientific naturalism, which can be shared both by proponents and opponents of naturalism. Part 2 explains the concept of ideology with the help of research in recent Critical Theory. Thereby, three characteristics of ideologies emerge: (i) ideologies are products of social practice and are reproduced socially, (ii) ideologies have practical effects and (iii) ideologies feature a so-called dual deception. Part 3 argues that the concept of naturalism essentially satisfies these three characteristics.

Keywords: Naturalism; Scientism; Quietism; Critical Theory; Ideology.