Re: methodological naturalism - origin of the term?

From: Brian Harper (harper.10@osu.edu)
Date: Wed Aug 27 2003 - 12:17:16 EDT

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    At 10:10 AM 8/26/2003 +0100, Steve Bishop wrote:
    >>From: "Steve Bishop" <stevebishop_uk@hotmail.com>
    >
    >>Does anyone know whent he term "methodological naturalism" was first used?
    >
    >
    >My thanks to Sarah and Howard on the help in locating the origin of the
    >term "methodological naturalism".
    >
    >So far the earliest mention I have found is by Alvin Plantinga in
    >Christian Scholar's Review XXI:1 (September 1991): 8-33
    >
    >"We are sometimes told that natural science is natural science. So far it
    >is hard to object: but how shall we take the term 'natural' here? It could
    >mean that natural science is science devoted to the study of nature. Fair
    >enough. But it is also taken to mean that natural science involves a
    >methodological naturalism or provisional atheism..."
    >
    >It is on-line at the ASA site (together wioth the responses from Van Till,
    >McMullin and Pun)
    >
    >http://www.asa3.org/ASA/dialogues/Faith-reason/index.html
    >
    >Does anyone know of an earlier occurence than 1991?

    Here is a reference from 1978:

    Title: HUME, HERMENEUTICS, AND HISTORY: A 'SYMPATHETIC' ACCOUNT.
    Author(s): Farr, James
    Source: History & Theory; 1978, Vol. 17 Issue 3, p285, 26p

    I have just briefly skimmed over a few paragraphs. It seems that the author
    is giving credit to Hume for MN but it is not clear whether Hume actually
    used the term. Also, and perhaps more interestingly, the author seems to
    take MN is synonymous to positivism.

    Brian Harper

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