a style which emphasizes the conscious emulation, but not necessarily the imitation of natural phenomena.
a type of literary study that depicts humans as animals controlled by heredity and environment, but not by supernatural forces or gods.
a depiction of something as it appears in nature
term often applied to Amarna art for its more realistic portrayal of people and animals than in traditional Egyptian art. Local: Art. Links: Art and Artifacts.
the doctrine that all reality comes under the “laws of Nature.
The belief that phenomena in the universe are explained by natural laws, and that there are no supernatural forces at work. Naturalistic Evolution: The belief that new species of animals develop from existing species over a very long interval of time, in response to purely natural forces and processes -- i.e. without the intervention of a deity.
Late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century literary approach of French origin that realistically depicts social problems and views human beings as helpless victims of larger social and economic forces.
The theory of Aristotle, the scholastics, and contextual realism that beings possess a "nature," in virtue of which they are specifically distinct substances with specific properties and activities.
rejects supernatural explanations (which scientists might consider if they made useful and testable predictions).
School of thought in drama that holds that actors should act exactly as their characters would in real life, right down to gestures and mannerisms. Naturalistic performances might look as if someone had hidden a video camera in a real persons' house. cf. Realism
The literary response to the belief in science and Darwinism. Individual behavior is determined by heredity, environment, and upbringing, and naturalistic writing pays close attention to these details.
Action, inclination, or thought based only on natural desires and instincts. A theory denying that an event or object has a supernatural significance. A perspective in literature emphasizing scientific observations of life without idealization or the avoidance of the ugly.
All phenomena can be explained as of natural law and cause, with no supernatural association.
Representational art in which the artist presents a subjective interpretation of visual reality while retaining something of the natural appearance or look of the objects depicted.
the belief that all phenomena are covered by the laws of science and that all teleological explanations are therefore without value
A style that grew out of Realism that is often sordid and shocking.
An extreme form of realism, which advanced the notion that the natural and social environment, more than individual will power, controlled human behavior. Its proponents, active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, sought to dispense with all theatrical convention in the search for complete verisimilitude: a slice of life, as the naturalists would say.
(philosophy) the doctrine that the world can be understood in scientific terms without recourse to spiritual or supernatural explanations
an artistic movement in 19th century France; artists and writers strove for detailed realistic and factual description
a style of fiction first prominent in such French writers as Honore Balzac and Emile Zola, whom London read extensively in translation. Posits that an individual lives completely in the order of nature and does not have a spirit nor way of partaking in a spiritual realm outside of the natural world; a human being is just a high-order animal whose identity and manners are entirely predestined by one's surroundings and genetics. Naturalists emphasized rich descriptions of even the basest social life without attaching moral commentary.
Expounding philosophical ideas using settings and characters that are realistic. See Hardy.
The theory or philosophy that contends that the fundamental constitution of reality is physical nature and that no supernatural or transcendent realm or being exists.
A literary movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The movement's major theorist, French novelist Emile Zola, envisioned a type of fiction that would examine human life with the objectivity of scientific inquiry. The Naturalists typically viewed human beings as either the products of "biological determinism," ruled by hereditary instincts and engaged in an endless struggle for survival, or as the products of "socioeconomic determinism," ruled by social and economic forces beyond their control. In their works, the Naturalists generally ignored the highest levels of society and focused on degradation: poverty, alcoholism, prostitution, insanity, and disease. Naturalism influenced authors throughout the world, including Henrik Ibsen and Thomas Hardy. In the United States, in particular, Naturalism had a profound impact. Among the authors who embraced its principles are Theodore Dreiser, Eugene O'Neill, Stephen Crane, Jack London, and Frank Norris.
An approach to art in which things are depicted as closely as possible to the way they are visually perceived.
a world view that denies the supernatural; scientific laws are adequate to account for all phenomena.
A late-nineteenth-century literary school that sought to apply scientific objectivity to the novel. Led by Emile Zola (1840-1902) and influenced by Darwinism, Naturalists created characters who were ordinary people, whose lives were shaped by the forces of heredity and the environment.
the doctrine that reality is governed by certain laws, including those of cause and effect.
the philosophical/religious view that all objects and events can be accounted for through scientific explanation alone, by way of known natural processes and causes, and that there are no non-natural or supernatural objects, processes, events, or causes. A corollary to humanism.
An objective, even scientific interest in detailed depictions of the natural world; sometimes this term is used interchangeably with realism.
Late 19th- and early 20th-century literary approach of French origin that vividly depicted social problems and viewed human beings as helpless victims of larger social and economic forces.
Literary style of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, where the individual was seen as a helpless victim in a world in which biological, social, and psychological forces determined his or her fate.
The philosophy that the events in the world follow impersonal laws that can be deduced by careful observation and experimentation. Despite spectacular success from applying this philosophy, it is believed by some theists to be inferior to the competing philosophy of "supernaturalism".
Representational art in which the artist interprets visual reality whilst retaining something of the natural appearance or look of the objects depicted. Naturalism varies greatly from artist to artist, depending on the degree and kind of subjective interpretation.
The view that the natural, material, and physical universe is the only reality. The philosophy of naturalism is characterized by monism, materialism, antisupernaturalism, scientism, and humanism.
Naturalism is any of several philosophical stances, typically those descended from materialism and pragmatism, that do not distinguish the supernatural (including strange entities like non-natural values, and universals as they are commonly conceived) from nature. Naturalism does not necessarily claim that phenomena or hypotheses commonly labeled as supernatural do not exist or are wrong, but insists that all phenomena and hypotheses can be studied by the same methods and therefore anything considered supernatural is either nonexistent, unknowable, or not inherently different from natural phenomena or hypotheses.
Naturalism in art refers to the depiction of realistic objects in a natural setting. The Realism movement of the 19th century advocated naturalism in reaction to the stylized and idealized depictions of subjects in Romanticism, but many painters have adopted a similar approach over the centuries. One example of Naturalism is the artwork of American artist William Bliss Baker, whose landscape paintings are considered some of the best examples of the naturalist movement.