Naturalism

Naturalism
Naturalism Nat"u*ral*ism, n. [Cf. F. naturalisme.] 1. A state of nature; conformity to nature. [1913 Webster]

2. (Metaph.) The doctrine of those who deny a supernatural agency in the miracles and revelations recorded in the Bible, and in spiritual influences; also, any system of philosophy which refers the phenomena of nature to a blind force or forces acting necessarily or according to fixed laws, excluding origination or direction by one intelligent will. [1913 Webster]

3. The theory that art or literature should conform to nature; realism; also, the quality, rendering, or expression of art or literature executed according to this theory. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

4. Specifically: The principles and characteristics professed or represented by a 19th-century school of realistic writers, notably by Zola and Maupassant, who aimed to give a literal transcription of reality, and laid special stress on the analytic study of character, and on the scientific and experimental nature of their observation of life. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Naturalism — • Philosophical tendency that consists essentially in looking upon nature as the one original and fundamental source of all that exists, and in attempting to explain everything in terms of nature. Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006.… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • naturalism — NATURALÍSM s.n. 1. Curent sau tendinţă în artă şi literatură, care se caracterizează prin observarea riguroasă a faptelor din realitatea obiectivă, prin redarea lor fidelă, prin preferinţa pentru aspectele urâte, vulgare ale naturii omeneşti etc …   Dicționar Român

  • Naturalism —    Naturalism as a pure form was pioneered by Emile Zola, who imagined theatre as a slice of life in which romantic and sentimental elements, as well as the well made play structure, would give way to a scientific examination of unmediated… …   The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater

  • NATURALISM —    Naturalism (shizen shugi) is a 19th century European literary movement echoed in Meiji Japan. Related to realism, naturalism attempted to explain characters’ actions through scientific means. French author Emile Zola’s works spurred such… …   Japanese literature and theater

  • naturalism — (n.) 1630s, action based on natural instincts, from NATURAL (Cf. natural) + ISM (Cf. ism). In philosophy, as a view of the world and humanity s relationship to it, from 1750. As a tendency in art and literature, from 1850 …   Etymology dictionary

  • naturalism — ► NOUN ▪ an artistic or literary movement or style based on the highly detailed and unidealized depiction of daily life …   English terms dictionary

  • naturalism — [nach′ər əl iz΄əm, nach′rə liz΄əm] n. 1. action or thought based on natural desires or instincts 2. Literature Art etc. a) faithful adherence to nature; realism; specif., the principles and methods of a group of 19th cent. writers, including… …   English World dictionary

  • naturalism — /nach euhr euh liz euhm, nach reuh /, n. 1. Literature. a. a manner or technique of treating subject matter that presents, through volume of detail, a deterministic view of human life and actions. b. a deterministic theory of writing in which it… …   Universalium

  • Naturalism — Contents 1 In the arts 2 In philosophy and science 3 Other …   Wikipedia

  • Naturalism —    The Naturalist strain of theater production and play writing in Germany was essentially a reaction to well made play conventions and a call for a more authentic environment on stage, as the term artistic came to mean unnatural. German… …   Historical dictionary of German Theatre

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