Difference Between Naturalism and Dialectical Materialism

Naturalism and Dialectical Materialism are atheistic worldviews, thus their philosophies stem from the same ideas. For instance, both philosophies agree that reality is composed only of matter- that is nothing outside of science can be knowledge. Dialectical Materialism emphasizes the necessity of testing belief in order to insure their validity; whereas naturalism supports the absolutes of science . Both philosophies deny the existence of the supernatural, of God, and the afterlife. However, the application of their atheistic worldviews provide a different approach to life. 

For instance, in the area of metaphysics, their ideas differ. Naturalism promotes that science is all that exists and this determines every aspect of life. Ultimate truth is found in science and science has even become a kind of religion to naturalists. Furthermore, "Secular Humanist naturalism requires that we apply science to every aspect of life, including the social and the moral."(104) On the other hand, Dialectical Materialism denies the existence of metaphysics and instead Marxists state "that dialectics is a method directly opposed to metaphysics, which they claim is an outdated mode of viewing the world." (110) First, let us define dialectical materialism- Noebel states that "the dialectic says that in everything there is a thesis (the way things are) and an antithesis (an opposition to the way things are), which must inevitably clash. The result of the struggle and merging that comes from the clash is the synthesis, which becomes the new thesis. This new thesis will eventually attract another antithesis, and produce a new synthesis."(109) Instead of basing the entirety of their belief on science, dialectics prefer to state that everything is in the process of evolutionary change. Therefore, they claim that there is no metaphysics because it "views reality in disjointed parts, while dialectics views reality as an interconnected whole."(110) However, objectively dialectic's metaphysics is one simply that matter is everything and causes everything. 

Another area of differences is the mind/body problem- that is how does the mind work in relation to the body. Naturalism states that the mind is simply a manifestation of the brain and that it is a "physical phenomenon." (104) It is a belief called monism which uses evolutionary processes to explain the complexity of the mind. However, dialectical materialism states that the mind is a reflection of the material world. Weird, huh? Marxists state that "consciousness is just a subjective reflection of objective reality."(111) Dialectics believe that the mind is simply matter. Both philosophies have a distinct twist on the same idea- how do you explain the human mind when you have denounced a intelligent creator?

              Finally, the main distinction between naturalism and dialectical materialism is dialectic's belief in the constant change of the universe. Naturalism ignores the purpose of mankind, where dialectics believe that new syntheses are happening continually.