Abstract

MONTOYA, César; CENDROS GUASCH, Jesús  and  GOVEA DE GUERRERO, María. Naturalism or Anti-Naturalism in Research . Revista de Ciencias Sociales [online]. 2007, vol.13, n.2, pp.346-354. ISSN 1315-9518.

This article reflects on the supposed capacity of naturalism in its quantitative as well as qualitative meaning, as a unique and infallible route for approaching the portion of truth that is glimpsed in research activity. From a hermeneutic perspective, different authors are interpreted in order to arrive at its advantages and disadvantages through analysis. This work could not be done without touching the concepts of truth, reality and nature, therefore they are addressed. Also, it contemplates the inconvenience of discussion, heir to criticism of positivist naturalism between qualitative and quantitative methodology. It concludes that naturalism is used as much by “qualitativists” as well as by “quantitativists” in a reductionist manner, on limiting reality (sensorial, spiritual and material) as a unique expression of the matter, a situation that should be avoided in a world where different discourses on knowledge converge, configuring transdisciplinarity and transversality To avoid reductionism, it is proposed to extend the term the empiric to take on not only the experimental, but also the experiential, by means of which transmission, reproducibility and verifiability may all be achieved, coming from other sources of realities different from the material, such as the mental or spiritual.

Keywords : Naturalism; anti-naturalism; research; qualitative; quantitative.