(June 25, 2019 at 8:25 pm)vulcanlogician Wrote:

(June 25, 2019 at 3:02 am)Losty Wrote: I’m not sure I agree with you here.
Atheism doesn’t mandate that you disbelieve something.
Only that you don’t believe it. Which I don’t think is actually the same.
You may not actively disbelieve every future scientific theory, but
you certainly don’t believe them either.

IDK about you guys, but I disbelieve religious doctrines. That doesn't mean "I believe they aren't true." But it DOES mean, that I've examined them, come to a conclusion about their plausibility and "actively" decided not to believe them. I assume that anyone who categorizes themselves as an atheist has done something similar. We don't generally refer to people as atheists because they have no knowledge of religious doctrines.

I suppose also that we have some ideas about "active" disbelief and "passive" nonbelief. The distinction between these two categories is unclear. Who is a "passive nonbeliever"? I consider myself an agnostic atheist because I have no knowledge of any gods that exist. But I've looked at religious claims, and I DO NOT believe them (what I call "disbelief"). Am I rather a passive "nonbeliever" because of my agnosticism?

I also consider myself an agnostic atheist because I have no knowledge of any gods that exist. But I not only disbelieve religious doctrines, I also actively believe they are not true. I could never say that about a god. I can’t say “I believe no gods exist”, but I do believe that all religious doctrines that I’ve been exposed to are untrue.

I wasn’t saying that you can’t disbelieve. Only that atheism does not mandate that you disbelieve. By most definitions a simple lack of belief will do.

Some sources claim that the concept of atheism can be dated as far back as 5th century BCE; I'd have to imagine, however, that the idea of not believing in a supreme being goes back even further than that.

(June 26, 2019 at 9:55 pm)EgoDeath Wrote: Some sources claim that the concept of atheism can be dated as far back as 5th century BCE; I'd have to imagine, however, that the idea of not believing in a supreme being goes back even further than that.

It went back to the big bang.

(June 28, 2019 at 6:41 pm)Anomalocaris Wrote:

(June 26, 2019 at 9:55 pm)EgoDeath Wrote: Some sources claim that the concept of atheism can be dated as far back as 5th century BCE; I'd have to imagine, however, that the idea of not believing in a supreme being goes back even further than that.

It went back to the big bang.

I don't follow... What?

Talking about "when atheism started" how much do you think the aftermath of 9/11 had to do with people leaving religion?

(June 25, 2019 at 6:35 pm)Belaqua Wrote:

(June 25, 2019 at 9:06 am)Losty Wrote: If that were correct it would be unnatural for humans to know anything beyond basic human instinct.

Yes, it would be unnatural for anyone to learn nothing. I am saying that it is natural for people to learn things. 

Maybe language has been studied the most. It appears that the mind is structured to be pre-disposed to language learning. Which language it learns depends on local conditions, but it is natural to learn one. 

Likewise, it seems reasonable to say, we are disposed to pick up social rules, ideas about how the world works, etc. So it is natural to lack knowledge as a baby, and natural to get it later.

dSo belief in a god depends on you parents and geo-location in much the same way as language, right?

(June 29, 2019 at 5:53 am)Abaddon_ire Wrote: dSo belief in a god depends on you parents and geo-location in much the same way as language, right?

Yes of course. Everything about us depends on those things. 

But it's not a simple dichotomy of believe/don't believe.

The way we think about the world, the structures we use to interpret it, the concepts we project onto it -- all of these are contingent. 

Your own ability to disbelieve -- and to be irate about the whole phenomenon -- is equally dependent on your time and place.

(June 28, 2019 at 8:39 pm)EgoDeath Wrote:

(June 28, 2019 at 6:41 pm)Anomalocaris Wrote: It went back to the big bang.

I don't follow... What?

Nobody believed in any god from Day One until they were invented.

When and where did atheism start?
Let me think. Uhh...

In some neckbearded guy's mother's basement? 

Final answer.

(June 29, 2019 at 6:29 am)Belaqua Wrote:

(June 29, 2019 at 5:53 am)Abaddon_ire Wrote: dSo belief in a god depends on you parents and geo-location in much the same way as language, right?

Yes of course. Everything about us depends on those things. 

But it's not a simple dichotomy of believe/don't believe.

The way we think about the world, the structures we use to interpret it, the concepts we project onto it -- all of these are contingent. 

Your own ability to disbelieve -- and to be irate about the whole phenomenon -- is equally dependent on your time and place.

LOL @ "irate" You have an overblown pompous assessment of your influence. On anything.