ABSTRACT
Nature philosophy (Naturphilosophie) was a theory of knowledge, briefly popular in the early nineteenth century, in which speculative thought, especially intuition, more than observation and experiment, were put forward as a reliable means to understanding the physical world. Because of its metaphysical tenets, nature philosophy could give shelter to a wide range of religious beliefs. It was commonly associated with mysticism and a latitudinarian attitude toward the Bible and religious confessional statements.
