Philosophers without gods : meditations on Atheism and the secular life

332 Pages·2007·2.83 MB·English

by  Louise M

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PHILOSOPHERS WITHOUT GODS
LOUISE M. ANTONY
editor
Philosophers without Gods
Meditations
on Atheism
and the
Secular Life
1
2007
3
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Philosopherswithoutgods:meditationsonAtheismandthesecularlife/
[editedby]
LouiseM.Antony.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN 978-0-19-517307-9
1. Atheism. I. Antony,LouiseM.
BL2710.P452007
211'8—dc22
2007060082
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
onacid-freepaper
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CONTENTS
Introduction ix
Acknowledgments xv
Part One Journeys
one Faith and Reason, the Perpetual War:
Ruminations of a Fool 3
Stewart Shapiro
two From Yeshiva Bochur to Secular
Humanist 17
Joseph Levine
three Religio Philosophi 32
Daniel Garber
four For the Love of Reason 41
Louise M. Antony
five Life without God: Some
Personal Costs 59
Daniel M. Farrell
six Overcoming Christianity 69
Walter Sinnott-Armstrong
vi contents
seven On Becoming a Heretic 80
Edwin Curley
eight Mere Stranger 90
Marvin Belzer
nine An Atheist’s Fundamentalism 104
James Tappenden
ten Thank Goodness! 113
Daniel C. Dennett
Part Two Reflections
eleven Transcendence without God:
On Atheism and Invisibility 121
Anthony Simon Laden
twelve An Aristotelian Life 133
Marcia Homiak
thirteen Without the Net of Providence: Atheism
and the Human Adventure 150
Kenneth A. Taylor
fourteen Disenchantment 165
David Owens
fifteen Religion and Respect 179
Simon Blackburn
sixteen Reasonable Religious
Disagreements 194
Richard Feldman
seventeen If God Is Dead, Is Everything
Permitted? 215
Elizabeth Secord Anderson
eighteen Divine Evil 231
David Lewis
nineteen Meta-atheism: Religious Avowal
as Self-Deception 243
Georges Rey
twenty Faith and Fanaticism 266
Jonathan E. Adler
contents vii
Notes 287
References 299
Notes on Contributors 303
Index 307
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INTRODUCTION
Louise M. Antony
Atheismisaminoritypositionintoday’sworld.Atleastinthepartsofthe
globe accessible to pollsters, most people believe in God. The rate of
theismhaslittletodowiththelevelofscientificortechnologicaldevel-
opmentofthesocietyinquestion.Consider,forexample,theUnitedStates,where,
despitethecountry’sconstitutionalcommitmenttothe‘‘separationofchurchand
state,’’ most institutions of daily life are infused with theism.1 U.S. coins carry
theproclamation‘‘InGodWeTrust,’’sessionsoftheU.S.Congressopenwitha
prayerofferedbytheofficialcongressionalchaplain,andnationalandcivicleaders
routinely invoke the name of God in campaign and policy speeches.
Within this climate, skeptics and atheists are viewed with suspicion. We are
presumed to be arrogant, devoid of moral sentiments, and insensitive to a wide
varietyofhumangoods.Indeed,accordingtotheauthorsofarecentsurveyfrom
the University of Minnesota, ‘‘Atheists are at the top of the list of groups that
Americansfindproblematicinbothpublicandprivatelife.’’2Forty-sevenpercent
ofthosesurveyedsaidthattheywould‘‘disapprove’’iftheirchild‘‘wantedtomarry
amemberofthisgroup.’’3Thesurvey’sauthorshastentopointoutthattheseop-
inions seemed not to reflect their respondents’ actual encounters with real, live
atheists—mostpeopleinthesurveyclaimednottoknowany—butratherreflected
astereotypicalconstruction,onethatlinkeddisbeliefwithegotism,consumerism,
and ethical relativism.
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