endlessabyss Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I've always been fascinated with atheists, and the way they view the world. Heck, I am thoroughly entertained by the atheist replies on this forum. One, big reason why I choose my major in college was because of atheist philosopher. Ultimately, my favorite atheist is Karl Marx, but Freud is a close tie. I know all my religious pales on this forum have a favorite atheist philosopher, and I would find it interesting who that is! Link to post Share on other sites
writergal Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Bill Maher is my favorite Atheist. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
todreaminblue Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 the guy who does the animal documentaries....attenborough.....havent heard him speak of athiest principles...but i love his voice and when he speaks about animals the love of nature si so evident..my fave philosopher is an ancestor of mine...and he was far from athiest ..the opposite actually..gk chesterton.........deb 2 Link to post Share on other sites
serial muse Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 gk chesterton I'm a fan of his Father Brown mysteries. Favorite atheist...probably Neil deGrasse Tyson. He recently answered a question from a 6-year old about the meaning of life in this way: "...maybe meaning in life is something that you create, that you manufacture for yourself and others. When I think of 'meaning' in life, I ask, 'Have I learned something today that I didn't know yesterday?' Bringing me a little closer to knowing all that can be known in the universe. Just a little closer, however far away all the knowledge sits. If I live a day and I don't know a little more that day than the day before, I think I wasted that day." And of course there's also this. 4 Link to post Share on other sites
sweetjasmine Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Favorite atheist...probably Neil deGrasse Tyson. You beat me to it. Though Carl Sagan would be my choice, if he were still around. Bill Nye would probably run a close second. But I don't really categorize people as atheists unless that's something they regularly talk about. Least favorite would probably be Richard Dawkins. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
serial muse Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 You beat me to it. Though Carl Sagan would be my choice, if he were still around. Bill Nye would probably run a close second. But I don't really categorize people as atheists unless that's something they regularly talk about. Least favorite would probably be Richard Dawkins. Yep, with you on Dawkins. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Mangina Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 The amazing atheist Link to post Share on other sites
writergal Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Tyson and Sagan are awesome atheists. I can't stand Dawkins. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
TheFinalWord Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 My favorite atheist is on YouTube. He promotes the idea of anti-natalism, or the thought that the child has no choice and therefore people should not conceive to avoid their inevitable suffering. He roots this notion in his atheist philosophy. Pretty interesting. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Robert Z Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) Atheists: Just another designation for those who think they have all the answers. In it's most popular form. atheism is just another faith-based belief system and a religion in its own right. Any time someone says there is no god, by definition they are speaking entirely out of faith, yet they try to sell it as logic or science. And "sell" is the key word! I find Dawkins particularly offensive in this regard. I guess my favorite atheists are those who recognize that their beliefs are just that, and not necessarily facts; and especially those who say the wisest words in all of creation - "I don't know". Edited January 20, 2015 by Robert Z 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Darren2013 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I don't think most atheists make a claim definitively there is no God. Atheism is more along the lines that there's not enough evidence to prove there is a God so therefore there's no reason to believe. The same reason I don't believe in the lochness monster because there's no evidence of its existence. That doesn't mean I claim non existence. Just that there's not evidence that gives me a reason to believe. Link to post Share on other sites
sweetjasmine Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I don't think most atheists make a claim definitively there is no God. Atheism is more along the lines that there's not enough evidence to prove there is a God so therefore there's no reason to believe. Right, and people always mix these terms up and use them incorrectly. An atheist simply lacks belief in any god. A gnostic atheist lacks a belief in god(s) AND claims to know there is no god for sure. An agnostic atheist (which is what I consider myself) lacks a belief in god(s) but doesn't claim to know for sure. Likewise, a gnostic theist believes in god(s) and claims to know for sure. An agnostic theist believes in god(s) but doesn't claim to know for sure. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
autumnnight Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Right, and people always mix these terms up and use them incorrectly. An atheist simply lacks belief in any god. A gnostic atheist lacks a belief in god(s) AND claims to know there is no god for sure. An agnostic atheist (which is what I consider myself) lacks a belief in god(s) but doesn't claim to know for sure. Likewise, a gnostic theist believes in god(s) and claims to know for sure. An agnostic theist believes in god(s) but doesn't claim to know for sure. I learned stuff tonight! 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Weezy1973 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Atheists: Just another designation for those who think they have all the answers. In it's most popular form. atheism is just another faith-based belief system and a religion in its own right. Any time someone says there is no god, by definition they are speaking entirely out of faith, yet they try to sell it as logic or science. And "sell" is the key word! I find Dawkins particularly offensive in this regard. I guess my favorite atheists are those who recognize that their beliefs are just that, and not necessarily facts; and especially those who say the wisest words in all of creation - "I don't know". I'm not a big fan of Dawkins for being an atheist, but he is very good at getting his point across in the field of evolutionary biology. The Selfish Gene is a great book. The God Delusion is a pretty terrible book. But as an aside, he fully admits to actually being an agnostic in the God Delusion. Link to post Share on other sites
Clair93 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 The God Delusion is a pretty terrible book. But as an aside, he fully admits to actually being an agnostic in the God Delusion. Philosophically it's a bad book, but it's the sort of book that a lot of people need to flip to the atheist side. Link to post Share on other sites
Author endlessabyss Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Philosophically it's a bad book, but it's the sort of book that a lot of people need to flip to the atheist side. Interesting lol. After reading that particular book; it increased my faith in God. The Blind Watchmaker did it for me though. That book pretty much proved what Dawkins was trying to disprove. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
autumnnight Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 I'd have to say my favorite atheist is a cousin of mine. We have the best talks. I don't try to preach to her, and she actually has the capacity and intelligence to respect me as a person and not do that whole condescending pity thing with me just because I happen to have faith. In other words, she is emotionally intelligent with great character, and a heck of a lot of fun. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
chumble Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I'll go top five: Oliver Sacks, Ron Reagan, Kevin Bacon, Brahms, and Sasha Grey. Link to post Share on other sites
evanescentworld Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 HH The Dalai Lama. he has a massive amount of interaction and dialogue with the Church, and in fact, Thomas Merton, a devoted Catholic Monk, once said that he wanted to be the best Buddhist he could. so while disbelievers can join in and celebrate, and believers can embrace and participate, it's all good... What do you call someone who Doesn't believe in God, but accepts there's no proof either way, and firmly believes that the whole 'does he exist/doesn't he exist?' argument is utterly pointless and a waste of everyone's time? Link to post Share on other sites
youngskywalker Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Atheists: Just another designation for those who think they have all the answers. In it's most popular form. atheism is just another faith-based belief system and a religion in its own right. I agree it takes faith to be an atheist but its the religious crowd who claim to have all the answers. My favorite atheist is George Carlin. He has some hilarious standups about religion that is just too dam true. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
chumble Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I agree it takes faith to be an atheist but its the religious crowd who claim to have all the answers. My favorite atheist is George Carlin. He has some hilarious standups about religion that is just too dam true. I disagree that atheism takes faith. Atheism is a lack of belief, rather than a "disbelief". You don't need much faith to lack a belief. You're probably an atheist when it comes to Dawkin's famous "flying spaghetti monster" that orbits the Earth, or the god Thor, or the space warlord Xenu. These can't be disproven, yet it doesn't take faith to reject them. They are unfalsifiable, and you lose no sleep whatsoever. I agree Carlin was hilarious. Link to post Share on other sites
youngskywalker Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I disagree that atheism takes faith. Atheism is a lack of belief, rather than a "disbelief". You don't need much faith to lack a belief. You're probably an atheist when it comes to Dawkin's famous "flying spaghetti monster" that orbits the Earth, or the god Thor, or the space warlord Xenu. These can't be disproven, yet it doesn't take faith to reject them. They are unfalsifiable, and you lose no sleep whatsoever. I agree Carlin was hilarious. There is a difference between a flying spaghetti monster and the origin of everything from nothing. I get your point but it's a bad analogy. I consider myself agnostic, so I'm not here trying to defend belief in god. I think it's unknown and a leap of faith in either direction. Both extremes are likely wrong. No different than any other extremist viewpoint out there. With that said. I can tolerate an atheist WAY more than I can tolerate a religious wack job! Current religious views can easily disproved. While I'm on it. You tube "the atheist experience" it's a radio call in show out of Texas. It played a big part in my leaving christianity. My eyes were opened on how lame "my" apologetics were in trying to defend god. If only christians knew how stupid they sounded. I don't say that to be mean to anyone. It's just true. I know because I was one of them. Link to post Share on other sites
Clair93 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 There is a difference between a flying spaghetti monster and the origin of everything from nothing. I get your point but it's a bad analogy. There's really not much difference. Evidence for both is equally poor. I consider myself agnostic, so I'm not here trying to defend belief in god. I think it's unknown and a leap of faith in either direction. Both extremes are likely wrong. No different than any other extremist viewpoint out there. With that said. I can tolerate an atheist WAY more than I can tolerate a religious wack job! Current religious views can easily disproved. If you define Atheism as an absolute rejection of any possibility of any kind of God, sure, that needs some faith. But when most people call themselves atheists, that's not what they mean. As long as you lack a belief and suspicion on existence of the typical Gods, you're an atheist. Agnosticism and atheism are not mutually exclusive. Link to post Share on other sites
umirano Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Atheists: Just another designation for those who think they have all the answers. In it's most popular form. atheism is just another faith-based belief system and a religion in its own right. So someone who says superman doesn't actually exist is just making a faith based statement, saying superman exists respectively is equally worthy of consideration as a statement about our world? Where does atheism as a worldview actually incorporate the notion that it has "all the answers"? You're misrepresenting what atheism means. Atheism is an absence of belief in any kind of supernatural being(s), whereas theism, i.e. belief is the assertion that there's a supernatural being. Looking at this difference of opinions with the correct meanings in mind shows why the two worldviews do not carry the same burden of proof. Theism is asserting an existence, atheism is not subscribing to said assertion. Atheism is not asserting non-existence. Because atheism isn't asserting non-existence, but the incorrectnes of the so far presented theist arguments, that's the only thing it has back up with evidence. It suffices to pick apart the theist arguments to make the case for atheism. That may emotionally be unsatisfying, particularly for theists, but that's how everyday and non-everyday existence claims are dealt with. If I say I have a huge diamond buried in my backyard and I ask you to help me unearth it, I could never ask you to prove me wrong if you were doubtful. Claiming god exists as an actual being (and is somewhat relevant to our own existence) needs to be backed up by evidence (especially if his existence should have consequences for politics and law making). Not holding said belief doesn't constitue a reason to prove his non-existence. Atheists should, and do, however scrutinize and refute theist arguments. Nobody would ask a person who doesn't believe in astrology to prove that astrology is false. My favorite atheists are Sam Harris, the staff of the amazing atheist, Christopher Hitchens, Epicurus, Denis Diderot, David Hume and many others, all of those in no particular order. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
umirano Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 What do you call someone who Doesn't believe in God, but accepts there's no proof either way, and firmly believes that the whole 'does he exist/doesn't he exist?' argument is utterly pointless and a waste of everyone's time? The correct word is atheist. An atheist doesn't say he has proof there is no god. If you object to that show me a quote. An atheist simply rejects the collective of the theist arguments. Most belivers are gnostic, meaning they subscribe to the notion that god (and consequently his existence) can be known with certainty. I've never seen a gnostic atheist, meaning he subscribes to the notion that god's non-existence can be known with certainty. I don't see any evidence for god, nor for any other being like hobbits, unicorns, superman or vishnu. So it's a safe bet to live my life under the assumption that there's no such god. The predominantly christian believers on here live their lives under the assumption that zeus doesn't exist. Doesn't seem to bother anyone. We're all atheists to most gods. I just go one further. Before you have the correct definitions you can hardly know whether or not an argument is pointless. And most of all religion, more precisely the "my god vs your god" conflict is responsible for a great many deaths just these recent weeks. Having this conversation is a philosophical and ethical necessity. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
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