(March 5, 2013 at 8:08 pm)Cthulhu Dreaming Wrote: One might suggest that you have things backwards. Those things you cite inform my atheism, not the other way around, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not alone.
I think a holistic view of human nature and human cognition would show that people are not really able to compartmentalize the things that they believe so that one does not affect the other. In reality, it is always a dialogue both ways.
Atheism is certainly not mere absence of belief, atheism is a specific cultural, philosophical movement that has its own values and advocacy that surround its epistemological stances, which are far from being self evident.
That said, as an heir of the enlightenment tradition, it sits on a wealthy tradition and enjoys the prestige of science.
