RE: Atheism's Definition - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
November 20, 2013 at 7:39 pm
(This post was last modified: November 20, 2013 at 7:46 pm by Simon Moon.)
Vincenzo "Vinny" G. Wrote: Agnosticism is a more rational position than atheism anyway.
They are not mutually exclusive.
But of course, you've been explained why many times, yet you refuse to understand or accept the explanations.
Hypothetical conversation:
Theist: Do you believe a god exists?
Atheist: I disbelieve a god exists. (this statement defines one as an atheist)
Theist: How do you know that a god does not exist?
Atheist: I didn't say I claim to know that a god dies not exist, I said I disbelieve a god exists. (this statement defines someone as agnostic)
Whenever you read or hear the word 'know' think gnosticism/agnosticism. Whenever you read or hear the word 'believe' think theism/atheism.
A belief is the psychological state in which one accepts a proposition to be true.
Theism is the psychological state of accepting the proposition that at least one god exists to be true. Atheism is not having that psychological state with regards to gods.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
