Using the word Spiritual

[Bob Kelso]

How many atheists here use that word to describe yourselves? How would you define it? I'm hesitant in using it because the word has a lot of supernatural baggage.

I typically don’t.

If I were to use the word I would do so sparingly, and only as a descriptor for overpowering human emotion. Like if I’m completely overwhelmed with love or awe. I think it’s also a decent term for that odd and fleeting feeling of universal connection people sometimes get when staring at the ocean or other such natural wonders.

To be succinct, I think it can be applied in a no supernatural nonsense way when talking about emotion.

[purplepurpose]

Spiritual - the one who expects to get endless life in divine and magical afterlife. That's beyond me.

[Angrboda]

I'm willing to use the word spiritual providing it's well defined and does not depend upon questionable metaphysical assumptions. To one degree, being spiritual refers to the realm of the spirit, which according to that view, is a non-deterministic entity independent of the brain which maintains our identity as well as our ability to reason and think morally. While in prior times the term spirit was meant literally, it's also important to keep in mind that its primary referent was these mental abilities, not necessarily the metaphysical underpinnings of them. Thus, on another view, spiritual can be seen as referring to the realm of the mind and self, the Logos, which is still somewhat poorly understood, but which includes questions about purpose and meaning. It is an attempt to think sensibly about something which is at this time ineffable, the why's and wherefore's of how we make sense of our experience. It's in that latter sense that I would be willing to use the term spiritual, but that has nothing to do with spirits, souls, or the supernatural, and is more akin to philosophy and similar intuitions. To the extent that spiritual refers to supernatural themes, I would not use it, both because I don't believe in the supernatural, but also because attempts to even conceptualize such things as coherent have mostly failed. If it's not coherent, there's no point in referring to it.

[Simon Moon]

The word 'spiritual' has about as many meanings as there are people using it. Which renders it almost useless.

It also seems to have a fair amount of 'woo' baggage that goes along with it.

I would never use it to describe myself.

Yes, I understand that many people use the word in place of the awe they have for the universe and nature, the feelings they have for loved ones, the joy they get from art and music, etc. But I would rather not muddy the waters and just describe those feelings without using such a meaningless word.

[CapnAwesome]

I actually say "I'm not a spiritual person" all the time in real life.

[emjay]

I don't use the word spiritual and frankly lose intellectual respect for anyone who does, especially when it's being used to describe clearly psychological effects like superstition and bias. When it's harmless (ie affects no-one else) I'm pretty indifferent to it and just basically roll my eyes at most, but when people are trying to influence other people with it, such as psychics, fortune tellers etc... it can be downright cringey to watch at best or angering at worst depending on the context.

[CapnAwesome]

The word 'spiritual' has about as many meanings as there are people using it. Which renders it almost useless.

It also seems to have a fair amount of 'woo' baggage that goes along with it.

I would never use it to describe myself.

Yes, I understand that many people use the word in place of the awe they have for the universe and nature, the feelings they have for loved ones, the joy they get from art and music, etc. But I would rather not muddy the waters and just describe those feelings without using such a meaningless word.

I agree. I also can use words that have a concrete meaning to describe my feelings about all of that. Spiritual is one of the most poorly defined words of all time.

Whatever spiritual is, I know I am not that thing.

[unfogged]

I think I'll start saying I'm not spiritual, I'm squaperberous and if they don't understand what that means then there's just no way to define it.

[Angrboda]

Sometimes using words that can live in both worlds can be a bridge rather than a barrier.

[Bob Kelso]

Sometimes using words that can live in both worlds can be a bridge rather than a barrier.

My thoughts precisely.