naturalphilosophy

Natural philosophy is the study of the natural world that seeks to explain phenomena through reason, observation, and argument rather than faith or myth. In historical contexts, it encompassed the inquiry that would later split into physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry, as well as broader questions about the nature of reality and change. It is often described as the predecessor to modern science.

Originating in ancient Greece, natural philosophy combined speculative reasoning with empirical observation. Figures such as Aristotle proposed integrated accounts of nature, using concepts like causes and substance to explain why things are as they are. In other cultures as well, systematic attempts to understand nature existed, sometimes blending science with metaphysical explanations.

During the medieval and early modern periods, natural philosophy remained the dominant framework for inquiry. Philosophers and scholars sought natural explanations that harmonized with theology or metaphysical commitments, while increasingly adopting mathematical reasoning and observation. The scientific revolution, with figures such as Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton, broadened methods toward controlled observation, experimentation, and quantitative theory.

By the late 18th and 19th centuries, natural philosophy gradually polarized into specialized sciences (physics, chemistry, biology), while the term itself persisted in some contexts as an umbrella for the study of nature. In this sense, natural philosophy referred to the rational investigation of the physical world, including questions about space, matter, life, and causation. In contemporary usage, it also appears in philosophy of science as a historical or methodological concept.

Related topics include philosophy of nature and the history of science.