Assumption Naturalism Essay

Assumption Naturalism
Reality
Naturalism: The universe is a natural place and there are no supernatural beings. The universe is all there is and it is a closed system.
Materialism: All is matter/energy.
Determinism: Matter is determined—for every effect there is a prior, physical cause.
Knowledge
Sensory empiricism: Knowledge comes from sensory experience, from your senses.
Radical empiricism: An extreme form of empiricism that says there is no need for any other method of knowing beyond empiricism.
Logical positivism: A philosophical system that embraces radical empiricism.
Human nature Biological machine: Human beings are just so much biological material, and like all matter they are determined. There are no minds or souls, only brains.
Reductionism: This is a philosophy that explains the
Sin nature or sin is an outmoded concept in the worldview of the naturalist.
Solutions to human problems Behavior modification, genetic engineering, personality-altering drugs: These treat the physical nature of the person and assume that is all there is.
Human value Arbitrary value in the human race: Your genes (the human race) will survive, even if you do not.
Human purpose Reproductive success (survival of the fittest): A human being is a gene’s way to make another gene.
Ethics Whatever promotes survival of the human race is good and moral: If the behavior helps us survive, then it is moral behavior.
Is = ought ethics: Whatever human behavior has survived down through the ages and has not destroyed the cultures embracing it must be okay and moral.
Suffering No purpose to suffering: We shoot injured horses. We talk about euthanasia for the terminally ill, the hopelessly insane, and for the elderly. Why let them