naturalism :: The Tentative Apologist

Post tagged with naturalism

Atheism versus theism: who bears the burden of proof?

October 26th, 200911:39 AM ET

By Randal Rauser

In my last post I pointed out that atheism becomes very contentious when it is wedded to the naturalistic worldview. As a way into the discussion I summarized naturalism as follows: Naturalism: "the view that the only things that exist are matter and energy and that which supervenes upon matter and energy." Let's call this the "naturalism th...
Atheist faith-heads, naturally

October 22nd, 200911:41 AM ET

By Randal Rauser

Most theists are not "plain theists". Rather, they embed their theism within a wider worldview perspective such as Christianity, Islam, or deism. By the same token, most atheists are not plain atheists. Instead they embed their atheism within a wider worldview perspective: that which is commonly called "naturalism". As such, it is worthwhile not on...
The games people play with morality

October 21st, 200902:48 PM ET

By Randal Rauser

Over the last few posts I have been arguing that morality is objective and that naturalistic (i.e. non-supernaturalist) views of the world are unable to ground morality as objective. Thus, insofar as we agree that we do in fact know certain moral facts as objective, absolute facts (e.g. it is a fact that it is wrong to torture infants for fun as su...
Rapist insects and Nazi Aliens from Planet X-1951

October 16th, 200905:33 PM ET

By Randal Rauser

I fear that I cannot engage everything in the last post, so I'm saying a few words here about Sorceror's fine comments which were, I believe, next in the queue. As with most of the skeptical atheist types responding here, Sorceror is not happy with the notion that rape, cannibalism, torture, and the like are objective moral horrors. Sorceror believ...
The Moral of the Story: On the Relativity of Strangeness (Part 2)

October 15th, 200911:25 PM ET

By Randal Rauser

Ahh the relativity of strangeness. That which doesn't fit with one's presuppositions is suddenly suspect, brazenly bizarre. So it seems to be is the reaction when some atheists countenance the existence of a moral law that exists objectively regardless of the existence of any and all finite creatures. AnAtheist.net's comments on my post "If there ...
If there is no God then is everything permissible?

October 12th, 200911:33 AM ET

By Randal Rauser

The moral argument for God's existence finds one of its most historically influential treatments in Dostoyevsky's magisterial The Brothers Karamazov. Consider the following passage where Smerdyakov replies to Ivan (the atheist): I first thought that if I had some money I could start all over again, either in Moscow or, better still, abroad; I...
Science, knowledge, and the Little Engine that Could

August 19th, 200912:51 AM ET

By Randal Rauser

The tale of The Little Engine that Could remains a perennial classic of early children's literature, and understandably so. The story (which we all know, so why am I bothering to repeat it?) involves a little blue engine commissioned with the task of pulling a large train over a very large hill. Initially success appears impossible as the little en...
Atheism as a fad and a worldview

July 21st, 200912:21 PM ET

By Randal Rauser

Atheism provides the first step in a worldview, namely the worldview known as "naturalism". Naturalism of one or another sort has been around since at least the ancient Greeks. And since the ancient Greeks there have been some who have sought to build a comprehensive naturalistic worldview. Fastforward to the mid-twentieth century and a whole new ...

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An exploration of faith, knowledge, reason and doubt (with the occasional trite pop culture reference thrown in for good measure).