| Methodological naturalism is best described by the thesis that only natural features can be factored into a legitimate explanation. It therefore contends that any attempt to explain natural phenomena by appealing to the supernatural is unscientific and therefore illegitimate.; I argue that this assumption by methodological naturalists is fundamentally flawed. There is nothing inherently problematic about appealing to supernatural agency in the attempt to explain select phenomena in nature. Reputable philosophers of the ancient and medieval periods, as well as prominent scientists of the early modern era, invoked supernatural agency in their attempts to understand nature. For these thinkers, the idea of a miraculous intervention in nature by a supernatural agent was not beyond the scope of reason.; Clearly, though, the supernaturalistic world view has been replaced by methodological naturalism. I show in this project that the epistemological assumptions of two pivotal figures---David Hume and Charles Darwin---brought about this change. Upon examining the reasons behind this change I conclude that it was motivated by unscientific means, and hence is inconsistent with the assumptions of methodological naturalism.; Keywords. Methodological Naturalism, Evolution, Creation, Supernaturalism, Miracles. |
