Defining "Atheism"

[Existentialist]

Thinking that we can establish a word's meaning by looking at its roots is a fallacy: to be precise, the etymological fallacy.

The etymological fallacy holds, erroneously, that the original or historical meaning of a word or phrase is necessarily similar to its actual present-day meaning. This is a linguistic misconception, mistakenly identifying a word's current semantic field with its etymology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymological_fallacy

Atheism means whatever the majority wants it to mean. Most atheists mean it as simple lack of belief. So that's that. If we want to add claims of the impossibility, or improbabilty, of God's existence, then we can (as I do). So agnosticism, as it's commonly defined (a position of uncertainty), is an atheistic position.

I agree that many words don't have the same meaning as they did when the word was originally formed. It's how we're constructing the word now that matters. Etymology, like dictionaries, can inform, not dictate.

"Atheism means whatever the majority wants it to mean," is problematic. I thought we were moving to the convention that meanings are found in dictionaries - not a stance I would take but hey, if that's the rule, who am I to break it? My dictionaries are giving the most popular meaning as "denial of the existence of God" or words to that effect. Disbelief is secondary. That is the way the word is being used in the world today according to the dictionary compilers. Do we need a worldwide vote on what atheism means? Is that practical?

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You can say denial of is encapsulated by lack of, but you can't really lay the law down an force a god-denier to accept the secondary definition, especially as he has already accepted the first.

Just because the 'god-denier' correctly considers himself an atheist does not mean that he cannot accept that his denial is not what makes him one. His lack of belief is what makes him one. His denial is a secondary component to his state of atheism. A 'stronger' atheism than simply lacking belief, as it were.

*laughs*

We've definitely whittled it down to a specific sticking point, but I have no interest in debating it further, as I doubt either of us will be swayed. No offense, I just think we're done here. At least... I am.

On the contrary, my denial of the existence of God makes me an atheist. The dictionary says so. Enjoy the rest of your day.