Can an atheist believed in unicorns but not believe in gods? {Split}

[cyris8400]

Here's something I always wondered:

Would a person who believed in unicorns but didn't believe in gods be an atheist?

I ask this because "atheism" has the unspoken add-on definition of not believing in anything supernatural, but the bare-bones definition is only confined to gods and not other supernatural things/creatures.

[NoWay]

Would a person who believed in unicorns but didn't believe in gods be an atheist?

I think the answer is technically, yes. Belief in some supernatural entities, but not gods, seems to me to be inconsistent and illogical, however.

[unrealist42]

Unicorns are certainly an acceptable belief for an atheist, as long as these unicorns are not gods.

Some who do not believe in god believe in other supranatural beings, some do not. Atheism, by nature, has an almost infinite range of beliefs.

[Doug Shaver]

Would a person who believed in unicorns but didn't believe in gods be an atheist?
Yes. But of course, I'm assuming that the person in question does not think unicorns are gods.

I ask this because "atheism" has the unspoken add-on definition of not believing in anything supernatural
Some people are under the impression that atheists tend to be scientific rationalists. One might wish it were so, but it is not. I've seen plenty of atheists who are not one lick better at critical thinking than the stereotypical fundamentalist.

But just by the way, I don't think unicorns are necessarily supernatural, unless you're thinking of the Invisible Pink Unicorn (bless her holy hooves).

[lenrek]

This thread split from the sticky:
http://www.iidb.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=83498&page=11

The reason for the split is here:
http://www.iidb.org/vbb/showthread.php?p=3727300#post3727300

[fast]

Here's something I always wondered:
The answer awaits you below:

Would a person who believed in unicorns but didn't believe in gods be an atheist?Yes, but perhaps not for the reasons you suspect.

A person who does not believe that a God exists is an atheist; moreover, just because an atheist has additional beliefs (whether in regards to the existence of something supernatural, a myth, or otherwise) will not change the fact that the person fits the definition of an atheist.

For example, there are some atheists who believe that ghosts exist, but there are also some atheists who believe that ghosts do not exist. For that matter, and while we’re at it, there are also atheists who do not believe that ghosts exists, and I suppose there are also atheists that do not believe that ghosts do not exist.

An atheist's belief in the existence of a ghost doesn't alter the status of the believer in terms of being an atheist.

I ask this because "atheism" has the unspoken add-on definition of not believing in anything supernatural, That is not true. There is a very good reason that many atheists do not believe in supernatural phenomena, but there is no accepted definition that states, implies, or infers that an atheist doesn't believe in anything supernatural.

but the bare-bones definition is only confined to gods and not other supernatural things/creatures.There are two definitions; there's the old school definition that states that an atheist is a person who believes that there is no God, and then there's the new school definition that states that an atheist is a person who does not have a belief that there is a God. I do not come to the conclusion that you have come to, for you mentioned, "and not other supernatural things/creatures".

[Baal]

Isn't a unicorn just a horse with a horn? It's not too implausible, but I don't really see the point of it unless you give unicorns magical properties, which you wouldn't be able to prove even if you glimpsed one.

[Von Smith]

Here's something I always wondered:

Would a person who believed in unicorns but didn't believe in gods be an atheist?

One has to wonder about the mindset of somebody who would accept the existence of any folklore construct without evidence, but yes, such a person could be an atheist.

Actually, depending on how broadly one defines "unicorn", such creatures are neither necessarily supernatural nor even all that implausible. One might propose a quirky theory that unicorns were actual creatures that were: a) weird-looking rhinoceroi, or b) weird-looking equids in much the same way one might think that dragons were originally a real, now-extinct species of large, venemous reptile. Such a unicorn wouldn't be supernatural, nor even all that physiologically implausible. In the case of a), it isn't even evolutionarily implausible, depending on where these creatures are supposed to have lived.

Of course, such creatures wouldn't have had any magical properties, nor would there bee many 11-year-old girls putting stickers of them on their math notebooks, but one might still reasonably describe such a creature as a unicorn.

Pegasi are a different story.

I ask this because "atheism" has the unspoken add-on definition of not believing in anything supernatural, but the bare-bones definition is only confined to gods and not other supernatural things/creatures.

Probably depends on cultural background. In most Western countries, there is a tendency for rejection of religious to cluster fairly tightly with rejection of other supernatural claims; however, I'm sure there are at least a few Icelanders who are atheists wrt the gods worshipped by established religions, and yet who also believe in elves and ghosts.

[windsofchange]

I used to have a boyfriend who claimed that from time to time he was channeling entities from another planet, among them a horny unicorn named Sport. At the time I believed him, because, well, I was young and foolish. And he certainly did have a horn! ;)

[show_no_mercy]

Here's something I always wondered:

Would a person who believed in unicorns but didn't believe in gods be an atheist?

I ask this because "atheism" has the unspoken add-on definition of not believing in anything supernatural, but the bare-bones definition is only confined to gods and not other supernatural things/creatures.

Well, as has already been said, atheists believing in supernatual things is entirely possible. However, just as an example, there are Buddhists who are atheists. They may not believe in god(s), but they might hold some supernatual beliefs.

Atheism is a sub-category of (metaphysical/philosophical/ontological - which ever one people feel like using) naturalism

[Ghostdog]

Technically a unicorn could be made genetically so that it would have the gene to grow a horn. You could insert it with narwhale genes or something.

[-RRH-]

Strictly speaking, narwhals have tusks, not horns.

To answer the original question, it's possible, but probably uncommon.

[Jolly_Penguin]

According to the Irish Rovers the last of the unicorns died in Noah's flood. So there is some evidence that unicorns once existed but no longer do. You've still got your green aligators and long necked geese though.

[Tartantyco]

-But Noah's flood didn't happen.......

[Tuvar Ane Ingolenen]

According to the Irish Rovers the last of the unicorns died in Noah's flood. So there is some evidence that unicorns once existed but no longer do. You've still got your green aligators and long necked geese though.
And according to my late aunt eating straight french fries will make your bones grow straight. So there is some evidence that twister fries were invented in the stone age.

[Jehanne]

Here's something I always wondered:

Would a person who believed in unicorns but didn't believe in gods be an atheist?

I ask this because "atheism" has the unspoken add-on definition of not believing in anything supernatural, but the bare-bones definition is only confined to gods and not other supernatural things/creatures.

I posed a similar question to Steven Novella, host of the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, who, apparently, is agnostic with respect to both Unicorns and "God" (see Email #2):

http://www.theskepticsguide.org/skepticsguide/podcastinfo.asp?pid=49

I agree with Dawkins on this one! Does anyone really believe that there is a teapot orbiting between Earth and Mars???