Naturalistinen

Naturalistinen is a Finnish adjective meaning naturalistic. In Finnish-language usage, naturalistinen describes approaches, styles, or productions that aim to reflect phenomena with fidelity to observable reality, emphasizing natural causes, material conditions, and empirical observation rather than idealization or mysticism. The term is commonly used across disciplines such as literature, film, visual arts, theatre, and science to signal a methodological or aesthetic preference for depicting the ordinary, the causal, and the contingent as it appears in nature or society.

In literature and the arts, naturalistinen ilmaisu is associated with objectivity, detailed description, and sometimes a focus on social conditions, class, and environment. It may overlap with realism, while also invoking a sense of determinism, heredity, and the shaping power of environment on characters and events. In theatre and cinema, naturalistinen techniques tend to strive for everyday language, observable actions, and plausible settings.

In scientific and social-scientific contexts, naturalistinen approaches rely on observation and empirical evidence, avoiding supernatural or unverifiable explanations. The term is generally descriptive rather than a rigid, formal movement name, and there is no single, fixed canon of works labeled strictly as naturalistinen within Finnish culture.

See also: realism, naturalism, empirical method, verisimilitude.