Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1
Two Ways of Explaining the World
Human beings have an innate tendency to seek explanations about the nature of the
world. This tendency is most obviously seen in the curiosity of young children, who
drive their parents frantic by endlessly asking questions about the world, many of
which the parents cannot answer. I recall asking my parents why the sky is blue, and
they were unable to tell me.
Historically, there have been two quite distinct ways of explaining the world -
recall that, by “the world” in this topic, I mean everything that we experience.
Philosophers call these two ways,
supernaturalism
and
naturalism
(
Fig. 1.1).
Fig. 1.1
