110
votes
Why do atheist euthanasia proponents consider nothingness preferable to suffering?
I think you have the logic of this backwards. In theism (and some other religious doctrines) life continues after the death of the physical body. They believe euthanasia is a negative act that can ...
- 18.5k
92
votes
Asserting that Atheism and Theism are both faith based positions
We must draw a distinction between atheism and agnosticism. Atheism is not believing in the existence of a God (or Gods), regardless of whether conclusive evidence is available, while agnosticism is ...
- 765
85
votes
Accepted
Is atheism just another form of dogma?
Nomenclature
You don't explain why you get the impression that atheism is dogmatic, but it appears that you mix terms which are not interchangeable.
If you leave catholicism because of your dislike ...
- 1,100
84
votes
Why do atheist euthanasia proponents consider nothingness preferable to suffering?
I think it's important to note that in cases where this is considered, death is already approaching. It isn't a choice between life and death. It's a choice between dying now or going through a few ...
- 661
73
votes
Asserting that Atheism and Theism are both faith based positions
No, atheism is not a faith based position. This has been debunked time and time again and there are numerous resources on the internet that cover this error in logic. If theism claims the existance of ...
- 1,154
65
votes
Are we all ‘atheist’ or 'agnostic in a pandemic'?
I think you have a false premise.
Your premise seems to be "Devout believers/adherents of the religion Islam believe that humans need not make any effort in their survival in the natural world." I ...
- 566
45
votes
Why should an atheist care about what happens to the world after his/her death?
Consider someone who doesn't believe in any kind of reincarnation or perfect punishment after death, an atheist. That is, nothing in the world can impact him/her after his/her death, because, as he/...
- 1,926
35
votes
Asserting that Atheism and Theism are both faith based positions
The only requirement of meeting the definition of "atheist" is that you do not have belief in any god(s). Computers, rocks, and newborn babies are all, by definition, atheists; because they do not ...
- 375
33
votes
Why do atheist euthanasia proponents consider nothingness preferable to suffering?
I have personally known two friends who, when faced with incurable cancer, elected to end their own lives at a time and in circumstances of their own choosing.
Both made this choice when it was ...
- 7,772
33
votes
Why should an atheist care about what happens to the world after his/her death?
Aristotle (who wrote well before the rise of the Christian notions of a soul or eternal life) addressed this question in terms of virtue. As he saw it, a community of men were like sailors on a ship, ...
- 18.5k
31
votes
Are we all ‘atheist’ or 'agnostic in a pandemic'?
There's a good joke about this.
The Mississippi floods, but this guy stays put and says "God will save me". A policeman comes past and says "Better be going" but our guy says "God will save me". The ...
- 1,728
27
votes
Asserting that Atheism and Theism are both faith based positions
Both positions, the theist and the atheist made a claim: The theist claimed the existence of god, the atheist claimed the non-existence of god. History shows: Neither of them could prove his claim.
...
- 24.3k
24
votes
Is atheism just another form of dogma?
At its core, atheism is not an active position, it is merely a passive position. Two atheists can have nothing in common other than that they do not believe in a god. There cannot be a dogma as there ...
- 349
24
votes
Isn't the knowledge of the non-existence of "God", objective?
Atheist conceptions of the idea of God often rest on a straw man fallacy that portrays a theistic view of God as Russell's teapot or as the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Both of these conceptions view God ...
- 19.2k
24
votes
Asserting that Atheism and Theism are both faith based positions
Alvin Plantinga, a Christian philosopher, presents a similar question regarding an extreme form of atheism that he calls "naturalism". Rather than asking whether the atheism of naturalism is faith-...
- 19.2k
22
votes
Dawkins on God: What are the strongest counters to his argument?
Since philosophers don't tend to comment on his argument, one can only speculate about why they don't, but the most likely answer is that it is a bad argument which was already addressed early in the ...
- 7,560
19
votes
Are we all ‘atheist’ or 'agnostic in a pandemic'?
There are some religious groups --I'm thinking here of "prosperity" churches --that promote the message that nothing but good things will ever happen to the truly faithful. But these are definitely ...
- 27.1k
18
votes
Where in the evolutionary chain did morality start to evolve?
First of all, I'm removing the references to evolution as this has been removed from the OP. The rest of this answer should directly address the relationship between the evolution of the brain, social ...
- 1,497
18
votes
Isn't the knowledge of the non-existence of "God", objective?
Whether or not God exists is an objective question with an objective answer, however the argument beginning
Is it true that "X" exists in reality only when we are aware of having experienced it, or ...
- 680
18
votes
Do atheists bear the burden of proof in showing why/how the reasons presented by theists are unconvincing?
I'd say the burden of proof is on the theist. The theist asserts the existence of some god. The burden of proof lies with the one making the claim.
- 313
18
votes
Accepted
Do atheists bear the burden of proof in showing why/how the reasons presented by theists are unconvincing?
I think gnasher729 and NotThatGusy make a great first point - "God" is too fuzzy a concept. Any discussion of God first needs to establish what properties we are assuming God has.
However, ...
- 1,409
17
votes
Do atheists bear the burden of proof in showing why/how the reasons presented by theists are unconvincing?
The answer is not going to be "the theist has the burden of proof" nor "the atheist has the burden of proof".
Before you can answer "Who has the burden of proof?", you ...
- 573
16
votes
Why do atheist euthanasia proponents consider nothingness preferable to suffering?
Where's the illogic in preferring (1) not to exist to (2) existing and suffering in agony? It's true, from an atheist standpoint, that after euthanasia I will not know that that I have ceased to exist ...
- 35.4k
16
votes
On the claim that science is an offspring of Christian thought?
First, concerning “the belief in a rational and orderly universe” one can just quote wikipedia:
The philosopher Pythagoras used the term kosmos (Ancient Greek:
κόσμος, Latinized kósmos) for the order ...
- 24.3k
14
votes
Is atheism just another form of dogma?
No, atheism is not just another form of dogma.
Atheism is defined as a certain answer to a particular question. Namely the answer: No, there is no god. The term „atheism“ does not refer to the manner ...
- 24.3k
14
votes
Asserting that Atheism and Theism are both faith based positions
The atheist position(s)
The most reasonable atheist position is the following position. They might say
"People say that some supernatural being exists, and they call this 'God.' Until they ...
- 3,039
14
votes
Why do atheist euthanasia proponents consider nothingness preferable to suffering?
Atheists supporting euthanasia might argue the following:
Death is inevitable.
Living simply for the sake of trying to avoid death is illogical.
Death is timeless / infinite.
Dying tomorrow instead ...
- 5,522
13
votes
How can we prove that the supernatural or paranormal doesn't exist?
You cannot prove it, and that is why the debate is endless.
What you can prove is that it is impossible for all religions to be true, since they make mutually exclusive claims, and you can point out ...
- 13.4k
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