What Kind of Atheist are You?

[pocaracas]

When pressed, I just say something like "non-believer" or "I don't believe any of it"... work well enough.

[comet]

This thread was inspired by one of our newest members, PhilosophicalZebra. I wonder how philosophical he is concerning lions.



Anyway, that's me. What are you?

I agree with ya.

we have emotional conclusions and logical conclusions.  They both form our world views I think.  So I agree with you OP.  We have "component beliefs" that we link up in our minds to form our world view.  I think we need to be honest in which one is driving a particular conclusion and effecting the world view.

I am atheist because of "whatever reason". I grew up with good catholic parents that were your run of the mill good parents. They did their best to give us the tools that would allow us to be the best "whatever" person we could be.  So my world view doesn't have a deep anti-religion component.

Also my pop was big into finding solutions that fit as many conditions as possible.  So using reason, commonsense, and control seem to fit good people everywhere to him.  He said don't believe everything you are told,  go learn it.    And of course, they didn't really desire to stick anything up our poopers unless the doctor required it. 

[isalexi]

I am an atheist because I cannot suspend all logic

[Dystopia]

I'm a freethinker atheist - I am a stronger atheist towards some gods and weaker towards other gods.

Generally I don't fall under a particular doctrine, philosophy or ideological movement but I do hold some very controversial positions. I try to not engage in groupthinking or dogmas but I know I'm not perfect.

Most of all I think atheists are right when it comes to not believe but that's it, I don't think we are a magical group and we're not better than any religious, political or ideological movement.

I don't feel particularly compelled to like people more if they are an atheist and I've met idiots on all sides. Generally I don't get along with people anyway, but some individuals interest me more.

[thesummerqueen]

The sexy kind.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Ayn Rand's stuff informed my atheism with a backing philosophy when I was younger, steering me towards "reason as my epistemology", as she wrote.

Of course, the internal contradictions inherent in her views, not to mention where the go against science (i.e., on altruism) led me away from Objectivism.

Nowadays the only label I wear is (agnostic) atheist. Everything else is decided on a case-by-case basis with no group ideology or identification needed, or even wanted.

[Angrboda]

I don't know what kind of atheist I am. I recently chose to embrace atheism and dump Hinduism, but I don't feel much different, and am not altogether certain I won't go back. Nothing seems to have changed.

In general, I think humans are a herd animal. Our brains are geared toward getting along in the herd, not for astounding feats of reason. It is because of this flaw in our nature, where you end up on the belief spectrum, to me, has less to do with reason than with the unseen currents of our subconscious and our biases. We drift more than we aim.

So I'm not the type to embrace labels of skeptic and humanist with pride. I see us all as basically dumb animals.

Anyway, as a result, I'm not so much anti-theist as just someone who likes good thinking, and the occasional tussle tearing apart bad thinking. Though for whatever reason, I've begun to tire of all the anti-theist threads, particularly those directed at Christianity. Maybe I've just been here too long. Or maybe it's my depression. But I've become tired of many of the debates and threads here. I'm not sure why.

[pocaracas]

I don't know what kind of atheist I am.  I recently chose to embrace atheism and dump Hinduism, but I don't feel much different, and am not altogether certain I won't go back.  Nothing seems to have changed.

why U no more hindu?!

Anyway, as a result, I'm not so much anti-theist as just someone who likes good thinking, and the occasional tussle tearing apart bad thinking.  Though for whatever reason, I've begun to tire of all the anti-theist threads, particularly those directed at Christianity.  Maybe I've just been here too long.  Or maybe it's my depression.  But I've become tired of many of the debates and threads here.  I'm not sure why.

Maybe because there's nothing new under the sun?
After so many threads around the same bush, you learn to recognize all the branches and leaves and... well... you get used to it. It's only human.
It's the same reason why an eternity of the same thing, no matter how good, will become tiresome at some point.

[Cephus]

I'm just a plain atheist. I do not believe things for which there is no objective evidence. I'm an atheist in the same sense that I'm an a-unicornist or an a-leprechaunist. If theists want me to believe, they can produce evidence. Until they can do that, they can leave me alone and keep their beliefs out of the public sector.

[Pyrrho]

What is the question of this thread?  What sorts of categories do you have in mind?  I believe in the holy trinity of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven (which I mention and word that way for the benefit of Herr Doktor Merkwürdigliebe).  So I am a music-loving atheist.  Or is this the sort of thing you had in mind:  I am an exChristian, as I was indoctrinated in that superstition in childhood.  For my philosophical inclinations, I am a Humean (David Hume is basically right about nearly everything).  Or do you have some other sort of category in mind?

As for followers of Rand, the ones I have met are not really atheists.  They believed in Rand as God, her books as their holy writ, and with Leonard Peikoff functioning as the Pope (with, of course, some of the Randians being "protestant" who disown Peikoff and regard him as heretical, not following the "true teachings" of Christ Rand).  Things like the worshipful attitude toward Rand, and the belief in the infallibility of her writings, lead me to regard them as theists.  Of course, they would not describe themselves that way, but self-descriptions are not always accurate.  Of course, there are exceptions to that, as, for example, I am the most modest man in the world, and you can trust that self-description.

As for satanists, if they believe in a supernatural being "satan," then they are theists as well.  And if they are only pretending, then they are not really satanists, just like someone who pretends to believe in Jesus being important, but does not really, is not really a Christian.