RE: Semantics (labels, words & definitions)
August 27, 2008 at 6:27 pm
(This post was last modified: August 27, 2008 at 6:30 pm by Tiberius.)
Disbelief is in turn a belief though. For instance, I disbelieve in the Loch Ness Monster, which means that I logically believe that the Loch Ness Monster does not exist. I disbelieve in gods, which means I believe that gods do not exist. The words are opposites of each other, so it falls to reason that inverse relationships still stand. If you are a support of abortion, you are a opposer of not having abortion.
Welcome to the wonderful world of inverses.
A lot of atheists reject the term "lack of belief" for the reasons stated above, but also because the word "lack" suggests that belief in God is default and required. A car with three wheels "lacks" a wheel, it is incomplete. A lot of dictionaries define atheism as both a belief and a disbelief as it rightly should be.
Furthermore, since atheism does not have any proof of the non-existence of God, it cannot possibly be anything other than a belief. Theism, which likewise does not have any proof of the existence of God, is also a belief.
Welcome to the wonderful world of inverses.
A lot of atheists reject the term "lack of belief" for the reasons stated above, but also because the word "lack" suggests that belief in God is default and required. A car with three wheels "lacks" a wheel, it is incomplete. A lot of dictionaries define atheism as both a belief and a disbelief as it rightly should be.
Furthermore, since atheism does not have any proof of the non-existence of God, it cannot possibly be anything other than a belief. Theism, which likewise does not have any proof of the existence of God, is also a belief.
