Ten is the new thirteen
The Freethinker has an atheist blog challenge in which it tapped me, so I’ve obliged.
How would you define “atheism”?
Non-theism; no belief in any gods.
Was your upbringing religious? If so, what tradition?
Very vaguely and nominally, and less and less so over time. And it never took.
How would you describe “Intelligent Design”, using only one word?
Infiniteregress.
What scientific endeavour really excites you?
Several do – but I’ll go with cognitive science. But there’s astronomy, too. So I’m a cheater.
If you could change one thing about the “atheist community”, what would it be and why?
Well to start with I would never call it a community! I feel fully entitled to be an atheist without being a member of any poxy community – which is not to deny that I feel a certain commonality with other atheists, especially vocal ones. But I still don’t think of atheists as enough of a community for it to be meaningful to want to change something about that community. All I know about atheists as such is that they are atheists, and I have no desire to change that.
If your child came up to you and said “I’m joining the clergy”, what would be your first response?
It was nice knowing you.
What’s your favourite theistic argument, and how do you usually refute it?
Oh, there are so many…One fave is the ‘science can’t explain why we are here’ type. I don’t exactly refute it, I just say neither can religion.
What’s your most “controversial” (as far as general attitudes amongst other atheists goes) viewpoint?
Er, er, er. I’m not sure I have one – possibly because I’m not sure what general attitudes among other atheists are. There are a lot of other atheists! The only general attitude I’m confident they have (excuse repetition) is non-belief in gods, and I uncontroversially share that one. Come on, try. Er, er. Well I’m not a humanist (except in the minimal sense of not being theist); that will have to do.
Of the “Four Horsemen” (Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchens and Harris) who is your favourite, and why?
I don’t have a favourite. They’re all fine upstanding members of the atheist community.
If you could convince just one theistic person to abandon their beliefs, who would it be?
The Saudi king.
Now name three other atheist blogs that you’d like to see take up the Atheist Thirteen gauntlet.
The New Humanist. Um…that will have to do; I’m too shy to name anyone else.
The Saudi king, heh, make sure you are packing your spy cam when you have the conversation ;-)
He won´t get a comment in edgeways for sure but, in his defense, he is barely alive.
How about joining my Society of Misanthropes?
Nah, I’m too busy with the Nonconformists’ Group.
Hey, OB . . .
What do you mean by “humanist”? And why aren’t you one?
I would have probably described myself as a humanist, albeit a frustrated and irritated and sometimes flat-out disgusted one.
Hey Rose – well that’s why I included the parenthesis – ‘humanist’ means different things to different people. But to the extent that it means something like having a specific affirmative ideology or religion-like thing without the religion which is based on certain optimistic beliefs about the human species – then I’m not one. Because of the optimistic beliefs, mostly, and because of the religion-like aspect.
Oh, ok. So kind of like “faith in humanity” or “faith in progress” or something? I don’t have faith in humanity either . . .it seems devolution is a real possibility. I’d rather people had faith in humanity than god though, I think that would probably be more fruitful.
I guess I do have hope though, which is not the same as faith. I suppose misanthrope is a lack of hope entirely: it’s out and out pessimism. If I had no hope I’d stop trying, and if we all stopped trying, then I suppose pessimism would become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I don’t think we’ll ever get to some kind of utopia, there’ll always be elements of stupidity and nastiness in humanity. I just hope humanity can improve a bit in general, although I suppose it will be slow and painful.
And of course there’ll never be a guarantee that we won’t just fuck it all up for ourselves at anytime.
Utopianism is dangerous. So I agree with you there.
In fact, I like the idea that humans are irrational. A little irrationality doesn’t stop any of us functioning quite well, in fact, it is what keeps us functioning as humans. People should be left alone to be silly, foolish and possess dumb ideas.
It’s in the imposition of those dumb ideas (particularly where they attempt to dominate or deviate ‘rational’ fields of endeavour) that problems arise.
How can you be too busy with a Non-Conformist group OB? I just refuse to go to the meetings.
“If your child came up to you and said “I’m joining the clergy”, what would be your first response?
It was nice knowing you”
Wow, I hope that’s a hypothetical example. My mother is an evangelical who’s been a New Earth Creationist in the past (I daren’t ask if she still is)and I am, predictably, an outspoken atheist.
Despite this cavernous difference, I can’t and won’t deny her relationship to me, I hope you wouldn’t really do that to a relative, if only for your own sake.
It was a joke. Most of my replies were more or less joky.