Do athiests exist?

[Superfund]

I notice one of the other threads was discontinued because Joe is ill. Thats ok imho but I think he may like the board to remain active so I share these interesting articles for when he is better

http://www.science20.com/writer_on_the_ ... oke-139982

[Jim B.]

Interesting article. I have run across atheists who believe in, or hold out the real possibility of, things like ghosts and an afterlife, but the one thing they're adamant about is not believing in the supernatural, however they understand that term, that everything is expalainable naturalistically.

[met]

What does it mean tho - 'explainable naturalistically, - ie without reference to any divine being?

[Jim B.]

What does it mean tho - 'explainable naturalistically, - ie without reference to any divine being?

That's a good question. It would probably depend on who you ask. "Strict naturalism" is the idea that nature is all that exists and nature itself is whatever can be explained or accounted for by the ideal natural sciences, especially physics. I think that's what most ahtiests mean when they talk about naturalism.

[Magritte]

That article cites some thought and research that strikes me as strong evidence against theism. We have an ingrained tendency to have imaginary friends? Do tell!

[Jim B.]

That article cites some thought and research that strikes me as strong evidence against theism. We have an ingrained tendency to have imaginary friends? Do tell!

You'll just have to ask Tim about that. Oops! I forgot. Tim doesn't like me telling other people about him

[Magritte]

That article cites some thought and research that strikes me as strong evidence against theism. We have an ingrained tendency to have imaginary friends? Do tell!

You'll just have to ask Tim about that. Oops! I forgot. Tim doesn't like me telling other people about him

Phew, so I don't have to worry about Tim's Witnesses knocking on my door on Saturday mornings.

[Jim B.]

That article cites some thought and research that strikes me as strong evidence against theism. We have an ingrained tendency to have imaginary friends? Do tell!

You'll just have to ask Tim about that. Oops! I forgot. Tim doesn't like me telling other people about him

Phew, so I don't have to worry about Tim's Witnesses knocking on my door on Saturday mornings.

Not under that description, no. He just wants to maintain plausible deniability to being in personal contact with me. But this is all a joke, you understand. There is no Tim. Yeah, that's the ticket!

But all seriousness aside, maybe there's a real topic lurking here?

[Magritte]

But all seriousness aside, maybe there's a real topic lurking here?

Sure: to wit, that humans have an innate bias towards agency - thinking and imagining in terms of agents, and that we have lots of false positives, because it's a survival trait. Better to be wrong about there being someone or something in the tall grass, than to be eaten by a lion or clubbed by an enemy.

Sometimes at night I hear a bang or knock or rustle. It's probably the downstairs neighbor or one of my son's toys falling over, but if I've been watching Dark Skies or The Blair Witch Project, par of me goes into overdrive, I get the chills and think ohhhh, shit! But that doesn't mean I actually believe in alien abduction or witches.

So the question is, do my instincts, biases and reactions constitute beliefs? I'd say not.

[Jim B.]

But all seriousness aside, maybe there's a real topic lurking here?

Sure: to wit, that humans have an innate bias towards agency - thinking and imagining in terms of agents, and that we have lots of false positives, because it's a survival trait. Better to be wrong about there being someone or something in the tall grass, than to be eaten by a lion or clubbed by an enemy.

Sometimes at night I hear a bang or knock or rustle. It's probably the downstairs neighbor or one of my son's toys falling over, but if I've been watching Dark Skies or The Blair Witch Project, par of me goes into overdrive, I get the chills and think ohhhh, shit! But that doesn't mean I actually believe in alien abduction or witches.

So the question is, do my instincts, biases and reactions constitute beliefs? I'd say not.

I agree, I think. If a loud noise startles me, someone can ask me "Why were you startled?" but the answer wouldn't have to do with my beliefs. I didn't agree with that article anyway. I think atheists exist, but I do agree with the author that belief is pretty complex and oftentimes more than a matter of yes/no, particularly with metaphysical beliefs.