Nature, Freedom and Pedagogy-A Comparative Analysis of Rousseau and Tagore
Naturalism, the philosophy of Nature which subordinates mind and spirit to matter denies belief in the Supernatural and the Spiritual. While Idealism idolizes the ‘Mind’ or the ‘Self’, Naturalism emphasizes ‘matter’ and the physical world. Unlike the Idealists’ claim substantiating that “God alone is the true agreement of concept [Begriff] and reality [Realitát]; all finite [endlichen] things involve some untruth [Unwahrheit], they have a concept and an existence [Existenz] which are incommensurable”1, the Naturalists say that the ultimate reality is ‘matter’ which manifests itself in the form of ‘Nature’. According to this philosophy ‘the material world’ or ‘the physical world’ or ‘Nature’ is the only real world that can be comprehended through human senses and unfurled through scientific investigations. ‘Atom’, ‘Empty’ space and ‘Motion’ are the three postulates on the basis of which the entire Nature and the phenomena of the Universe can be explained. As Ernest Hocking writes
