Mageth
April 2, 2004, 01:25 AM
...and positive books on Atheism. Or books that portray atheism/atheists in a positive light. Got any to recommend?
Anyway, atheism is too often portrayed as a negative position opposed to theism. The commonly used titles of "atheist" and "non-believer" seemingly imply that atheism is a negative position; hence, some suggest other terms (e.g. "brights") for the position of non-belief, but that's a topic for another thread. Even Russell's classic "Why I Am Not A Christian", by its title, implicitly portrays non-belief as a negative position. And that's how I more or less viewed atheism for my first couple of years as an atheist, whether I would have admitted it or not. Perhaps that is a result of being a "deconvert" from Christianity, and/or of being an atheist in a country dominated by theists, and is not so much of a problem for a life-long atheist.
But recently, I read a short, but very good, book that sets out to defend atheism as a positive, defendable, and indeed the correct, philosophical position, a book that has set me on the road to taking a positive approach to atheism (and that inspired me to suggest this new forum, BTW). The book is:
Atheism: A Very Short Introduction (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0192804243/internetinfidels/) by Julian Baggini (Oxford University Press, 2003)
(You'll find a thorough review of the book by Jeffery Jay Lowder there, BTW.)
In the book, Baggini "sets out to dispel the myths surrounding atheism and to show how a life without religious belief can be positive, meaningful, and moral." Overall, he does an excellent job, especially for such a short book (119 pages).
A quote:
Atheism is the position which is best supported by the evidence and the one which offers the best overall explanation for why the world is as it is and appears to be. In contrast to faith positions, it does not require us to believe anything which goes beyond reason or evidence, or indeed anything which is contrary to them. The fact that we cannot be 100% certain that atheism is true is only grounds for not being dogmatic in our beliefs. It is not a ground for agnosticism, nor for believing that atheism is a faith position just like religious belief.
I would highly recommend this book to those who are "new" to atheism as a very good, and positive, introduction to the atheistic position and to those atheists who might still view their atheism as a negative position opposed to theism and are interested in approaching their atheism more positively. Even "seasoned" atheists might find something of interest here; though most of what Baggini says was not new to me, his succint and highly readable presentation of the subject matter from a positive rather than a negative stance was refreshing and enlightening.
I'd also recommend the book to theists that are interested in better understanding the atheistic position; perhaps Baggini might even convince you to view atheism not just as a position that opposes theism but as a philosophical position that stands on its own. And it would also be a good, short introduction to the atheistic position for atheists to give to their theistic friends and/or loved ones so that they can better understand your atheism. Heck, I'm even thinking about carrying my copy around with me as a quick little reference book in case I get into an impromptu discussion of atheism.
Anyway, do you have any books on Positive Atheism to recommend? Perhaps we'll make a "recommended reading" sticky thread. In that light, recommended books on Secular Activism would be appropriate as well, if anyone knows of any.
Anyway, atheism is too often portrayed as a negative position opposed to theism. The commonly used titles of "atheist" and "non-believer" seemingly imply that atheism is a negative position; hence, some suggest other terms (e.g. "brights") for the position of non-belief, but that's a topic for another thread. Even Russell's classic "Why I Am Not A Christian", by its title, implicitly portrays non-belief as a negative position. And that's how I more or less viewed atheism for my first couple of years as an atheist, whether I would have admitted it or not. Perhaps that is a result of being a "deconvert" from Christianity, and/or of being an atheist in a country dominated by theists, and is not so much of a problem for a life-long atheist.
But recently, I read a short, but very good, book that sets out to defend atheism as a positive, defendable, and indeed the correct, philosophical position, a book that has set me on the road to taking a positive approach to atheism (and that inspired me to suggest this new forum, BTW). The book is:
Atheism: A Very Short Introduction (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0192804243/internetinfidels/) by Julian Baggini (Oxford University Press, 2003)
(You'll find a thorough review of the book by Jeffery Jay Lowder there, BTW.)
In the book, Baggini "sets out to dispel the myths surrounding atheism and to show how a life without religious belief can be positive, meaningful, and moral." Overall, he does an excellent job, especially for such a short book (119 pages).
A quote:
Atheism is the position which is best supported by the evidence and the one which offers the best overall explanation for why the world is as it is and appears to be. In contrast to faith positions, it does not require us to believe anything which goes beyond reason or evidence, or indeed anything which is contrary to them. The fact that we cannot be 100% certain that atheism is true is only grounds for not being dogmatic in our beliefs. It is not a ground for agnosticism, nor for believing that atheism is a faith position just like religious belief.
I would highly recommend this book to those who are "new" to atheism as a very good, and positive, introduction to the atheistic position and to those atheists who might still view their atheism as a negative position opposed to theism and are interested in approaching their atheism more positively. Even "seasoned" atheists might find something of interest here; though most of what Baggini says was not new to me, his succint and highly readable presentation of the subject matter from a positive rather than a negative stance was refreshing and enlightening.
I'd also recommend the book to theists that are interested in better understanding the atheistic position; perhaps Baggini might even convince you to view atheism not just as a position that opposes theism but as a philosophical position that stands on its own. And it would also be a good, short introduction to the atheistic position for atheists to give to their theistic friends and/or loved ones so that they can better understand your atheism. Heck, I'm even thinking about carrying my copy around with me as a quick little reference book in case I get into an impromptu discussion of atheism.
Anyway, do you have any books on Positive Atheism to recommend? Perhaps we'll make a "recommended reading" sticky thread. In that light, recommended books on Secular Activism would be appropriate as well, if anyone knows of any.