Naturalism

INTRODUCTION

            According to naturalism, only nature is everything for truth and reality. It does not recognize the existence of soul or God. It recognizes only nature. There is nothing behind and beyond nature.

DEFINITION OF NATURALISM

           “ Naturalism is a system whose salient characteristic is the exclusion of whatever is spiritual or indeed whatever is transcendental of experience from our philosophy of nature and man”.

-          JOYCE

CHIEF ASSERTIONS OF NATURALISM

1.      Nature is the Ultimate Reality:

                        Naturalism regards nature as the ultimate reality. This means that nature is propelled by her own laws and consequently determined by them. For the naturalists, reality and nature are identical. In the words of Hocking

2.      No distinction between Mind and body:

                        The Naturalists do not distinguish between mind and body . Idealists  regard the mind as spiritual and the body as just the matter which delays. But, for the naturalists, man is matter and his mind is the result of his brain-function

3.      Scientific Knowledge:

                        The naturalists regard the scientific knowledge as of highest value and of almost worth .

4.      Inductive Method:

                        The naturalists  advocate the inductive method of acquiring knowledge. It is the method of science.

5.      Values are resident in Nature:

                        Naturalists have no belief in spiritual values.  For them, values are resident in nature.

6.      Man-an offspring of nature :

                        The naturalists regard man as an off spring of nature and not a segment of society. For them man is a natural animal and not a social animal as pragmatists believe.

7.      Senses are the gateways of knowledge:

                        While Idealists believe that mind is the only source of knowledge the Naturalists say that   all knowledge is comprehensible through senses.

8.      Unchangeable laws of Nature:

                        Laws of nature are unchangeable and the whole universe is governed by them.

           

FORM OF NATURALISM:

The following are the three forms of Naturalism:

a)      Physical Naturalism

b)      Mechanical Naturalism

c)      Biological Naturalism

a)      Physical Naturalism:

This form of naturalism concentrates its hold on external nature. The laws of physical nature govern the laws of human life. “The fundamental of these laws is that the natural is good and civilized evil”.

b)      Mechanical Naturalism:

Mechanical Naturalism regards man as a machine. Mind is well as man is matter. He is mere machine devoid of spiritual soul. This machine is run by time guiding principles and these principles are natural.

c)      Biological Naturalism:

                          Biological Naturalism emphasizes the development of man’s natural impulses, natural    propensities and inborn tendencies. It has put forward the following these principles of evolution

1.      Adaptation of Environment

2.      Struggle for Existence

3.      Survival of the fittest.

“ A teacher must have a through knowledge of the evolutionary process of human growth and intelligence”.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF NATURALISM:

The following are the main principles of Naturalism.

1.      The universe is a huge machine. Man is also a part of this machine and complete in himself also

2.      Life comes out of dead matter and is a sum total of physical and chemical reactions.

3.      All the capacities of an individual human being are delimited by his nature. Those are his innate and inherent tendencies and basic instincts.

4.      Man because of his own nature, is the supreme creation of nature. He may be termed a supreme and superior- most animal.

5.      The true explanation of reality can only be done in terms of physical sciences.

6.      Reality is of the external natural only. All objects are born or made out by this nature and ultimately disappear in nature laws of external nature never change.

7.      Unchanging laws of nature explain all the events occurrences of the world.

8.      The changes in the life of man and his physical conditions are due to scientific discoveries and inventions of machines and mechanical devices which promote all sorts of comforts. Hence, knowledge of physical inventions and discoveries if very essential.

9.      The ultimate Reality is of Matter. God, soul, mind, The heaven and Hell, Freedom of will, Moral values, Prayers and Superhuman wonders are all illusions

10.  Thoughts depend on physical circumstances. They are activated only when some external stimuli affect the body organ of an individual.

NATURALISM IN EDUCATION:

                        In the Naturalistic system of education, there is no place for classroom, text-books, curriculum, time table, formal lessons or examinations. Naturalism believes that formal education is the invention of society which is artificial. Good education can be possible only through direct contact with nature.

PRINCIPLES OF NATURALISM FOR EDUCATION:

(i)                 Back to Nature: Naturalism may be regarded as a revolt against the stereotyped system of education. It is reaction against artificiality of life. ‘Back to Nature’ is the watch- works of Naturalism. The term ‘nature’ has two-fold sense-

(a) Physical nature.

(b) Nature of the child is instincts, impulses, capacities, attitudes etc with which the child is born 

(ii)               Education – a natural necessity: The naturalist regards education as a natural necessity. For them , educational institutions are unwanted creation of mans superimposed upon nature.

(iii)             Education- development of the natural life: According to Naturalistic thought, education is a process of development of the natural life. As Monroe perceives it, “Education is the process of developed into an enjoyable, rational harmoniously balances, useful and hence natural life”.

(iv)             Freedom of the child: It gives prominent place to the concept of freedom in the education of the child.

(v)               Child centered educational process: Child occupies the central and pivotal role in the Naturalism set-up. The child’s nature is in the fore front which all other things such as educator, the books, the curriculum, the school, are in background.

NATURALISM AND AIMS OF EDUCATION:

Aims of education as prescribed by Naturalism are specified below- - -

(i)                 Self-expression: It is the main aim of education. It means giving the child full opportunity to express or reveal his hidden capabilities and qualities

(ii)               Perfection of human Machine: Mechanical naturalism suggests that education should aim at the efficiency and perfection of human machine.

(iii)             Preparation for struggle of life: Biological Naturalists believe that life is a struggle, in which only stronger living beings are successful. Hence, the aim of education should be to prepare the individual for the struggle of life.

(iv)             Adjustment with Environment: The Naturalists like James World believe that man can be successful in life only if he has adjusted with environment.

(v)               Reduction and Sublimation of Instinct: The aim of education should be the redirection and sublimation of the instincts. This will help in the achievement of natural and social goals.

(vi)             Development of Individuality: Every individual possesses his individuality and special traits. The aim of education should be the development of his individuality.

NATURALISM AND CURRICULUM:

1.      No rigid curriculum

Naturalistic curriculum is based upon the psychology of child and gives maximum importance to the age and stage of his development.

2.      Sciences:

Naturalists believe in science subjects viz. Physics , Chemistry, Zoology and Botany. They also give due importance to Mathematics and Languages.

            NATURALISM AND METHOD OF TEACHING

I.                   Child-centered methods of teaching:

The methods of teaching and has advanced new and psychological methods of teaching. They have laid great stress on child-centered methods of teaching. They have stated that  we should oppose rate learning by cramming.

II.                Learning by experience/ doing:

Naturalists have stated that we should leave the child in the lap of nature and encourage him to learn by his experiences.

III.             Training of senses:

Rousseau was of the view that our senses are the gateway of knowledge, hence we should train the senses of the child is the first step towards his education.

i.                    Self-experience or direct-experience:

ii.                  Observation and Experiments:

The other methods of teaching are observation and experiments in laboratory Science should be taught through these techniques.

iii.                Playway  Method:

In the words of Dr. Prem Nath, “Playway is a stable method of naturalistic education ”. Froeble, too has recommended play as the supreme and valuable technique of teaching. Through play, child acquires various skills.

iv.                Heuristic method:

Naturalism advocates Heuristic Method (Self-discovering method) for teaching science and mathematics.

NATURALISM AND TEACHER

Teacher-an observer:

            In the naturalistic scheme of education a teacher is merely an observer of the natural development of the child. The job is to facilitate the process of child’s growth as well as learning.