(January 16, 2016 at 6:32 am)robvalue Wrote: If anyone wants to learn anything "about atheists" it should be this: we're not a hive mind. You can learn about individual atheists, but you can't learn "about atheists". The best you can do is find trends, such as scepticism. I'd very roughly guess 75% of professed atheists are sceptics. Would people agree?
Of course, "atheist" is simply a description. Whether or not someone actually is an atheist is not dependent on whether they claim to be one or claim not to be.
Please don't make the mistake of generalising atheists. Even a strong trend such as the above should not be used as an assumption. If you want to know about an atheist, ask that atheist. And if your point is about sceptics, or naturalists, or scientists, then just say so rather than using "atheists" as a generalization.
Well, that makes an awful lot of sense, Rob.
For this reason, it's advice bound to fall upon wooden ears.
