atheism & naturalism

“God Particle” Discovery Means Woes for Atheists?

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Check this out: https://i.imgur.com/Y69cF.png According to some Tweeters, the recent (probable) discovery of the Higgs Boson (unfortunately tagged “The God Particle” by physicist Leon Lederman) has some people once again writing obituaries for atheism. Of course, it seems unlikely that these particular individuals have advanced degrees in physics, philosophy, or theology, so their pronouncements should … “God Particle” Discovery Means Woes for Atheists?

LINK: Colin McGinn on Atheism

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The Spring 2012 issue of Theoretical and Applied Ethics contains a symposium on Ethics, Atheism, and Religion.  The lead essay is by Colin McGinn and is followed by responses from Edward Feser, Steve Fuller, Ted Peters, and Robert Sinclair.  All the essays can be read online, so go take a look. HT: Edward Feser

A Brief Comment on Terminology

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The purpose of this post is just to define terms used in my series on evidential arguments for naturalism. Before discussing specific arguments for and against atheism, I think it would be useful to define some terms. In doing so I will adopt the definitions put forth by Professor Theodore M. Drange in his excellent … A Brief Comment on Terminology

The Evidential Argument from the History of Science (AHS)

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Informal Statement of the Argument If there is a single theme unifying the history of science, it is that naturalistic explanations work. The history of science contains numerous examples of naturalistic explanations replacing supernatural ones and no examples of supernatural explanations replacing naturalistic ones. Indeed, naturalistic explanations have been so successful that even most scientific … The Evidential Argument from the History of Science (AHS)

Gervais and Norenzayan: Analytical Thinking Promotes Religious Disbelief

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Abstract: Scientific interest in the cognitive underpinnings of religious belief has grown in recent years. However, to date, little experimental research has focused on the cognitive processes that may promote religious disbelief. The present studies apply a dual-process model of cognitive processing to this problem, testing the hypothesis that analytic processing promotes religious disbelief. Individual … Gervais and Norenzayan: Analytical Thinking Promotes Religious Disbelief

Gervais: Finding the Faithless: Perceived Atheist Prevalence Reduces Anti-Atheist Prejudice

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Abstract:Although prejudice is typically positively related to relative outgroup size, four studies found converging evidence that perceived atheist prevalence reduces anti-atheist prejudice. Study 1 demonstrated that anti-atheist prejudice among religious believers is reduced in countries in which atheists are especially prevalent. Study 2 demonstrated that perceived atheist prevalence is negatively associated with anti-atheist prejudice. Study … Gervais: Finding the Faithless: Perceived Atheist Prevalence Reduces Anti-Atheist Prejudice