[Serious] Why are you an Atheist?

[Objectivist]

New to this site and actually atheism.  I’m here to know more about atheism and how people convert to it.  My questions are below.  If you have time please take a moment to help me understand more of the atheist view.  These questions are intended for those who espouse the atheist view but if you are from another belief system feel free to answer.

What do you consider as prime reality?

What is the purpose of history or does it serve  a purpose?

How did human existence begin?

What is morality?

Where do you decide what is right and wrong?

What do you believe in with absolute certainty?


Thanks in advance.

Max

Hello Max,

It's crucial for you to understand that there is no atheist view.  "Atheist" is a concept that identities and subsumes all those people who are without a belief in gods.  That's what the A in atheist means: without. A theist is someone who believes in a god, therefore an a-theist is one without this belief in a god. There is no one atheist view of Morality, or the origins of life, or anything else.  That one is an atheist tells you what one does not believe, not what one does believe. Atheism is not a comprehensive view of the world or a philosophy, but is a stance on a single issue:  whether one believes in a god or not.  That's all it is. 

Now I'd like to answer your questions with that in mind.  My answers will likely be different from other atheists.  

What do you consider as prime reality?  I don't know what you mean by "prime reality".  I don't think there is any legitimate reason to divide a concept like reality in this way.  Reality is the realm of things that exist.  It includes everything that exists now, has ever existed or will ever exist.  

What is the purpose of history?  History is just what has happened in the past. It has no purpose.  Of course, we can study it and learn from it if we choose.  Unfortunately, most people never do, which is why we repeat the same errors over and over again.  

How did Human existence begin?  By a causal process.  Causality is the Law of Identity applied to actions.  The Law of Identity states that A is A.  The law of causality says that the actions of A are determined by what A is.  So Human beings are the end result of a process of entities acting and interacting according to their nature.  Reality is ruled not by a God, nor by "chance" but by the Law of Identity. 

What is morality?  Morality is a code of chosen values to guide one's thinking and actions, actions which determine the course of one's life.  Morality is conceptual in nature, not metaphysical.  Morality, like all conceptual things, does not exist in reality apart from the mind, nor does it exist in the mind apart from reality.  It exists in the relationship between the mind and reality, hence its dependence upon the Primacy of Existence principle.

Where do you decide what is right and wrong?  Excuse me, but this is a bizarre question, and also a loaded question.  I do not decide what is right and wrong, I discover what is right and what is wrong.  Right and wrong are value judgments that I make about things in reality.  The standard that I judge them by is my life and its requirements or to put it more abstractly, Man's life and its requirements.  Certain things and actions are bad, harm my life, and certain things and actions are good, supportive of my life.  Things are not good because I decide that they are good, they're good because they correspond to the factual requirements of my life, according to my nature as a man.  Since I want to keep on living, I must judge everything against these factual requirements to discover whether some thing or action will be life affirming or destroying.  The faculty in Man that does this is reason, guided by logic.  Logic is the method of reason and is non-contradictory identification of the things I perceive.  

What do you believe in with absolute certainty?  Lots of things.  I believe with absolute certainty that my car will not run without gasoline.  I believe with absolute certainty that if I don't eat and drink, I will die.  I believe with absolute certainty that hitting my finger with a hammer will hurt.  This is just a small sample.