ˈnach(ə)rəˌlizəm also -chərˌ- noun
( -s )
1. : action, inclination, or thought based on natural desires and instincts alone
2. : a theory that expands conceptions drawn from the natural sciences into a world view and that denies that anything in reality has a supernatural or more than natural significance ; specifically : the doctrine that cause-and-effect laws (as of physics and chemistry) are adequate to account for all phenomena and that teleological conceptions of nature are invalid
3.
a. : a theory that art or literature should conform exactly to nature or depict every appearance of the subject that comes to the artist's attention ; specifically : a theory in literature emphasizing the role of heredity and environment upon human life and character development
b. : the quality, rendering, or expression of art or literature executed according to this theory : close adherence to nature — compare realism
4. : a doctrine that religious truth is derived from nature and not from miraculous or supernatural revelation : a denial of the miraculous and supernatural in religion
5. : a view in ethics that distinctions between good and bad and right and wrong can be made on the basis of natural phenomena or that ethical terms and statements can be expressed in terms of or be reduced to nonnormative factual terms and statements