(March 2, 2019 at 4:00 pm)bennyboy Wrote: Still not sure what the problem is with saying atheism is a belief. I say there's Skydaddy. You say, "Yeah. . . I doubt it, bud. Show me." You believe Skydaddy isn't real, but you're always willing to accept evidence to the contrary.
Why are atheists fighting so hard to be seen as people who simply lack a belief, and not as those who believe certain propositions are likely false?
Well, ignoring for the moment that it's a question of truth, and such questions are typically worth arguing for, I guess the only way I can make sense of your remark is that you're not sympathetic to those who argue that atheism is not a belief. That much seems plain from your position and what you've posted here. I for my part am not arguing either case so much as pointing to flaws in the arguments made for the proposition that atheism is a belief. I haven't followed your back and forth with Gae to determine what your specific argument is, as I rather quickly formed the impression that you were being your usual, special, contrarian self, but if you feel that I have overlooked the significance of your argument, I'd appreciate a summary of what you feel your argument is. As far as I am aware, there are both atheists who lack belief as well as atheists who believe that certain propositions are likely false. I myself used to belong to that latter category, with qualifications, but no longer do so. That being the case, there are both atheists who believe that certain propositions are likely false and there are those who do not hold that position, therefore it would be incorrect to generalize and claim that all atheists believe certain propositions likely false. At least, that's my current understanding (with an important qualification which I am not going to go into at the moment). If you feel otherwise, then I have to say that I, if no one else has, have not gotten a clear understanding of why you feel this way from your posts.