To explain natural phenomena through physical causes and natural laws rather than supernatural or divine intervention, named after the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras.
From Anaxagoras (c. 500-428 BCE), Greek philosopher who proposed nous (mind) as the organizing principle of the universe, + -ize suffix. The term emerged in 19th-century philosophical discourse to describe his mechanistic approach to explaining nature.
Anaxagoras was radical for ancient times—he proposed that the moon was actually a rocky body reflecting sunlight, and that the sun wasn't a god but a burning stone, which got him exiled from Athens for impiety! When scholars 'anaxagorize' something, they're applying that same skeptical, physical explanation approach.
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