Philosophy Stack Exchange
Philosophy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [atheism]

Atheism is (in a broad sense) a skeptic attitude towards the belief in deities. In a narrower sense, atheism rejects the existence of deities at all.

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Asserting that Atheism and Theism are both faith based positions

I am recently testing an assertion that I have concluded namely that atheism is a faith based position just like theism is a faith based position. The reason I arrived at this conclusion is that theists have no proof that God actually exists. It's…
user37713
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Why do atheist euthanasia proponents consider nothingness preferable to suffering?

I have heard some atheists support euthanasia, on the grounds that death is preferable to agony. But I don't understand this; if there is no afterlife, death isn't a relief. It's true nothingness, the deceased won't experience painlessness, they…
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In what sense is atheism scientific?

I have been reading a bit of Dawkins and the like and they all seem to hold a very strong viewpoint on atheism and its associated ideology. I have not found a direct citation for this but he frequently makes a very close connection, e.g.: An…
user2683
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Is atheism just another form of dogma?

I was raised Catholic, and part of my motivation for leaving Catholicism was my dislike of any kind of enforced structure. However, to my surprise, it seems like Atheism is also dogmatic. Is this intentional? Is atheism supposed to be only…
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In what way(s) does popular New Atheism fail to be philosophical?

I've seen some derision against the popular New Atheism movement, in particular against Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris (particularly interesting since he makes a big deal that he studied and received a philosophy bachelor's). …
adhoclobster
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What arguments would support a secular pro-life position?

I've been thinking about the pro-life position (by "pro-life" I mean the position that abortion should be illegal. I.e. on par with murder) for awhile, and it is normally presented as a religious position, one that a secular person cannot…
yters
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Is atheism a requirement for a consistent existentialist philosophy?

Søren Kierkegaard is generally considered to be the "father of existentialism". This always bothered me, since to me Sartre and Camus are the defining figures of the movement, and it seems that there is no room for God in an existential…
Alan Turing
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The "point" to an Atheists existence

I've recently become Atheist (I am 45). I've slowly transitioned from my childhood's strong Christian upbringing; through Agnostic; to the point where my rational brain has now extrapolated the ridiculousness of Organized Religion to see all…
Rodney Nim
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Is there any rigorous philosophical basis for atheism?

Definition/Update In what follows I use the term God to refer to an entity that has at least one of the following properties: Has created the universe Is omnipotent Is omniscient Approaches to Atheism A great many philosophers and scientists have…
Pantelis Sopasakis
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Are we all ‘atheist’ or 'agnostic in a pandemic'?

Saudi Arabia is a deeply religious country. Most of the people in the Persian Gulf nation pray five times a day, 35 times a week, 140 times a month and 1,680 times a year. But they banned pilgrimages (one of the pillars of Islam), because of the…
Barungi Stephen
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How to prove you are an atheist?

I've been reading a conversation between two individuals - A claiming to be atheist and B asking him to prove it, since B does not believe that A is saying the truth and can't be sure if A is really an atheist as A claims. So I was wondering - is…
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On Atheists who are sympathetic to religion?

Most Atheists I have encountered fall into 2 categories: New Atheists: People who don't believe in God and see religion as an evil to be eradicated given the harm it has caused humanity (i.e. followers of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, etc...).…
Alexander S King
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Dawkins on God: What are the strongest counters to his argument?

But the candidate solutions to the riddle of improbability are not, as is falsely implied, design and chance. They are design and natural selection. Chance is not a solution, given the high levels of improbability we see in living organisms...…
thinkingman
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What are some theories attacking postmodernism preserving objective truth and morality without assuming a God?

From my simplified understanding postmodernism claims ?: there is no objective truth, only interpretation there is no objective morality, morality usually represent the interest of the powers that be From what I understand these positions were…
Andy
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How does Schopenhauer maintain idealism without God?

In Berkeley's idealism God holds the world together, enabling us to avoid chaos and experience a shared, orderly reality. But Schopenhauer is an idealist and an atheist. How can we then explain the shared experience of reality? What holds everything…
Bill Herd
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