Naturist philosophy

Philosophy of naturism

I hear it at times. The naturist 'philosophy'. When people want to avoid mentioning it 'the lifestyle', which often is associated with swingers and the likes.

Philosophy sounds a lot better but what is the naturist philosophy?

The word consists of two words from ancient Greek. "Philos", which means "love" or "friendship", and "sophia", which means "wisdom". The etymological meaning of 'philosophia' therefor is 'love of wisdom'. Philosophy emerged from wonder and critical questions about knowledge, human action and reality. Basically some people were puzzled about these things and tried to figure them out.

After this bit of theory and origin I dare state that the philosophy of naturism is thinking about it and trying to put the idea, the reason why and perhaps/probably also the benefits into words.

How does one philosophise about naturism?

A few questions I can come up with are

• What describes naturism?
• Why do people do this?
• What are the benefits?
• Are there drawbacks?

These four will do for now. Maybe something else will come up. That's what philosophy is about, right?

What describes naturism?

I fear to go here because we all sort of know what it is, on the premise that we consider nudism, naturism, clothes free living and all the terms that exist so far to be the same thing.

The base of it doesn't lie in ancient Greece or Rome but in Germany in the early 20th century when the FKK (Frei Körper Kultur, the free body culture) movement appeared. Back to nature, freedom, healthy living and a lack of clothes were the main points.

This has seen many changes, revivals and returns. The clothes free aspect and the freedom have remained the same so I assume those two describe naturism's bare bones. Healthy living and back to nature are bonus material.

Why do people do this?

As I am the philosopher here I think it's a desire to go back to simplicity. No distraction by clothes. Being closer to nature is another bonus here because many nude people don't care about nature, just about being nude, feeling the elements directly on their skin. Another bonus is the lower strain on the environment (less laundry / detergent etc).

I don't see any deeper value here that could be a common denominator for the nude life. There are many options but they don't apply to everyone, which for me is a prerequisite for a philosophical view on this.

What are the benefits?

Ask this of 10 people and you will probably hear 10 things. Again the property I've heard

most is the freedom, which comes back all the time. I've read many accounts where people tried to describe this freedom. I have tried too. So many attempts and none of them manage to convey the deeper meaning. For me that tells that this is something which cannot be caught in words.

Things that people say are 'no tan lines', feeling the environment, feeling care free (which has to do with the freedom again), the lack of social differences - another sign of simplicity.

Are there drawbacks?

I gave this some thought. Yes. There are. At some point one has to get dressed. Even the people who live on naturist resorts can't escape that once in a while. Everyone who's been nude for a considerable time will recognise the aversion towards having to get dressed again, handing in the freedom and 'subjecting' to the many rules and regulations of 'modern life'. Of course there are many different things one can mention here as well but the 'getting dressed again' seems to be the main drawback.

Ergo...

What I have found after going through all this is that naturism mainly points at freedom and simplicity.

Is this surprising? No. The modern world is restrictive, over-regulated and freedom is cut off and chipped away at on every corner of life. Naturism gives a counter balance to that. For that I think it's a precious commodity that should be cherished.