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Why did advances in natural science strengthen materialist theories of human nature?

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Fragment of a Roman fresco showing Socrates seated and draped in a white robe, with Greek text above, on a red background with visible cracks. — Philosophical anthropology Socrates, Roman fresco, 1st century bce; in the Ephesus Museum, Selçuk, Turkey.

Advances in natural science strengthened materialist theories of human nature by providing a unified, mechanistic framework that challenged the traditional view of the mind as an entity distinct from the body. As scientific progress expanded, the success of physics and chemistry in explaining natural phenomena encouraged the belief that all aspects of reality, including biological and psychological processes, could be reduced to physical laws.1234

Key scientific developments that fueled this shift include:

Evolutionary Theory: Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution demonstrated a continuity between humans and other living things, providing a purely causal explanation for biological complexity that removed the need for teleological or design-based arguments.5
Neurophysiology and Biology: Discoveries in biochemistry and physiological psychology suggested that mental functions could be explained as neural mechanisms, effectively demoting the conscious mind from its privileged, non-physical status.26
Mechanistic Models: The development of artificial intelligence and cybernetics reinforced the idea that human intelligence and behavior might be understood as the output of complex physical systems, similar to automata.32

By framing human nature within these scientific parameters, materialism sought to eliminate "nomological danglers"—irreducible physical-mental laws—in favor of a consistent, unified scientific worldview.34