# Naturalism Positive Steelman Plan

Date: 2026-06-07

This is a plan only. It does not create evidence rows and does not change scoring by itself.

| family | datum | target | range | dependency cluster | cap family | answer row | scoring | source needs |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reductive physicalism | Mental life is explained by physical processes without nonphysical mind. | H-NATURALISM | -0.02 to 0.04 | consciousness_mind | root_metaphysics | E-CONSCIOUSNESS | report-only first | Chalmers, Dennett, Churchland, Kim, neuroscience survey sources. |
| Nonreductive physicalism | Mental properties supervene on physical reality while preserving higher-level explanation. | H-NATURALISM | 0.01 to 0.05 | consciousness_mind | root_metaphysics | E-CONSCIOUSNESS | report-only first | Kim, Murphy, Clayton, philosophy of mind sources with Christian/non-Christian balance. |
| Emergentism | Complexity can generate higher-level properties without immediate theistic appeal. | H-NATURALISM | 0.01 to 0.05 | emergence_complexity | root_metaphysics | E-TOP-DOWN-CAUSATION | report-only first | Broad emergence literature; avoid using emergence as a label without mechanism. |
| Secular moral realism | Moral realism may be defended without theism. | H-NATURALISM | 0.02 to 0.06 | moral_realism_personhood | moral_argument_counterpressure | E-MORAL-REALISM-PERSONHOOD | report-only first | Enoch, Parfit, Scanlon, Shafer-Landau; include theistic replies. |
| Social/cognitive science of religion | Religious belief formation is shaped by social cognition, agency detection, ritual, and community. | H-NATURALISM | 0.03 to 0.07 | religious_cognition | worldview_rival_pressure | E-ANTHRO-RELIGIOUS-COGNITION-CROSS-CULTURAL | active scoring only after source review | Boyer, Barrett, Norenzayan, Whitehouse; distinguish explanation from debunking. |
| Divine hiddenness | Sincere nonbelief is more expected without a relational revealing God. | H-NATURALISM | 0.02 to 0.05 | evil_hiddenness_pluralism | defeater_rival_pressure | E-ANS-HIDDENNESS-NONCOERCIVE-RELATIONAL-REVELATION | active scoring already begun | Schellenberg, Howard-Snyder/Moser, Rea; keep nonresistance criteria careful. |
| Religious disagreement | Persistent sincere disagreement is more expected if religion is historically and culturally mediated. | H-NATURALISM | 0.01 to 0.04 | evil_hiddenness_pluralism | defeater_rival_pressure | E-ANS-PLURALISM-HISTORICAL-PARTICULARITY | active scoring already begun | Hick, Plantinga, Netland, D-Costa, comparative religion sources. |
| Grief/visionary models | Some reported appearances and visions are expected under bereavement and visionary-experience mechanisms. | H-ALT-HALLUCINATION | 0.05 to 0.12 | resurrection_alternatives_visionary | resurrection_alternative | E-ANS-HALLUCINATION-APPEARANCE-DIVERSITY | active scoring by named alternative, not broad naturalism | Bereavement-vision literature, Allison, Wright, Licona; avoid duplicate broad naturalism. |
| Origin-of-life progress | Prebiotic chemistry progress modestly reduces origin-of-life gap arguments. | H-NATURALISM | 0.02 to 0.06 | origin_of_life_counterpressure | science_counterpressure | E-OOL-INFORMATION-GAP | report-only first | Sutherland, Szostak, Luisi, origin-of-life reviews; separate progress from solved problem. |
| Multiverse / anthropic selection | Selection effects can partially explain fine-tuning appearances. | H-NATURALISM | 0.03 to 0.08 | fine_tuning_selection_effects | fine_tuning_selection_effects_caution | E-FINETUNE-ANTHROPIC-MEASURE-PROBLEM | active scoring only after cap review | Bostrom, Sober, Ellis, Barnes, Tegmark; maintain measure-problem caveats. |
| Causal closure and scientific success | The success of natural explanation gives local support to methodological naturalism. | H-NATURALISM | 0.03 to 0.07 | methodological_science_success | root_metaphysics | E-METH-SIGNAL-ARCHITECTURE | report-only first | History/philosophy of science sources; distinguish method from metaphysical closure. |
| Evolutionary debunking arguments | Some moral or religious beliefs may be explained by evolutionary pressures. | H-NATURALISM | 0.02 to 0.06 | debunking_arguments | moral_argument_counterpressure | E-EAAN-PLANTINGA | report-only first | Street, Joyce, Plantinga, Enoch; keep self-defeat/reliability issues visible. |
