A central idea in Naturalistic Humanism is a naturalistic model of human behavior based on evidence and reason. The naturalistic model is based on reason because it does not regard human behavior as the sole exception to the law of causation. Like everything else in our universe, human behavior is fully caused by our genetic and environmental determinants. All events leading up to a given moment result in our behaving the only way possible — this recognition is called metawareness.
The naturalistic model is also based on evidence because it rejects the conventional view that humans are naturally selfish, greedy, and unmotivated to contribute unless coerced. Despite the ubiquity of such misanthropic beliefs, social science and neuroscience repeatedly demonstrate that when people receive the necessary developmental support, they are naturally inclined to be caring, cooperative, and motivated to participate and contribute. The extent to which we behave differently reflects the degree that our natural human potential has not been supported. In Naturalistic Humanism this perspective is called proanthropy.