The Argument from (Reasonable) Nonbelief 1993 was a watershed year in the philosophy of religion generally and for atheological arguments specifically. In that year, Cornell University Press published J.L. Schellenberg’s now classic book, Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason. Schellenberg’s book contained the first book-length analysis and defense of the idea that the weakness of evidence […]

On the Nonexistence of God and Proving a Negative A common objection to atheism is that it is impossible to “prove a negative.” This objection is exposed as a myth: it is possible to prove a negative, and several examples are provided in the articles by Carrier, Lowder, and Vuletic. It is therefore illegitimate to […]

On Average, Are Atheists as Moral as Theists? General An Introduction to Atheism (1997) by mathew This useful introduction to atheism addresses several of our questions, including Are atheists less moral than religious people?, Is there such a thing as atheist morality?, and Isn’t the whole of life completely pointless to an atheist? Atheists Can […]

Morality and Atheism This index links to 9 questions relevant to the relationship between morality and atheism: Are atheists as moral as theists? Can life have meaning without God? Does atheism entail a certain view on specific moral questions? How should atheists live? On naturalism, are we free and morally responsible for our actions? On […]

Argument from Physical Minds The argument from physical minds (APM) is a strong but neglected argument in the case for atheism. Two versions of the argument have important implications for the philosophy of religion. The first is the mortalistic argument from physical minds, which runs as follows: If a nonphysical mind (rather than the brain) […]

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Can Life Have Meaning without God? Can Secular Philosophy Give Us Objective Morality? (2003) by Taner Edis This is a review of Michael Martin’s Atheism, Morality, and Meaning (Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2002). “Michael Martin is an eminent atheist philosopher, and he gives us a hard-hitting critique of those theistic arguments which claim that all is […]

Logical Arguments Logical arguments for atheism attempt to show that the concept of God is self-contradictory or logically inconsistent with some known fact. In the jargon of the philosophy of religion, the former type of logical arguments are sometimes called incompatible-properties arguments. These arguments attempt to demonstrate a contradiction in the concept of God. If […]

Meaningfulness of Religious Language The atheism section of the Modern Library is maintained by Jeffery Jay Lowder <Jeff Lowder>. No essays available at this time

How Should Atheists Live? Atheism and Humanistic Value Theory (1996) by Michael Martin “Atheism and humanistic value theory . . . are distinct and separable positions. . . . [Humanists must] defend their humanistic values without support from either atheism or theism. Since humanistic values can be supported by both camps, both belief and nonbelief […]

Without God, What Grounds Right and Wrong? Adams’s Open-Question Argument Against Ethical Naturalism (2006) by Stephen Sullivan In Finite and Infinite Goods, Robert Merrihew Adams offers an interesting variation on G. E. Moore’s famous open-question argument against ethical naturalism. In giving causal-explanatory reasoning the last word in ethical inquiry, he says, ethical naturalists negate a […]

On Naturalism, Are We Free and Morally Responsible for Our Actions? An Argument from Consciousness and Free Will (Great Debate) (2007) by Stewart Goetz and Charles Taliaferro Most naturalists insist that there is no room for purpose or teleology in the universe. They hold that the origin and evolution of the universe was governed by […]

Argument from Evolution Many conservative Christians and lay atheists alike claim that if biological evolution is true, then God does not exist. Ironically, while many conservative Christians have attacked evolution because it supposedly entails atheism, no contemporary atheist philosopher has used evolution as evidence for atheism. Indeed, the only philosopher who has formulated an argument […]

Reviews of Books about Arguments from Evil Book Review: Dialog on Good, Evil, and the Existence of God (2000) by Mark Ivan Vuletic In 1978, philosopher John Perry published a well-received little book in which three fictional friends engaged in a series of stimulating but easy-to-understand discussions about personal identity and immortality. Review of Andrea […]

Logical Arguments from Evil According to logical arguments from evil, some known fact about evil is logically incompatible with God’s existence. (In contrast, evidential arguments from evil merely claim that some known fact about evil is evidence for God’s nonexistence.) Ever since Alvin Plantinga rebutted J. L. Mackie’s logical argument from evil, the majority of […]

Evidential Arguments from Evil The argument from evil (or problem of evil) is the argument that an all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfectly good God would not allow any—or certain kinds of—evil or suffering to occur. Unlike the logical argument from evil, which holds that the existence of God (so defined) is logically incompatible with some known […]

Evidentialism Do Atheists Bear a Burden of Proof? A Reply to Prof. Ralph McInerny (1997) by Keith M. Parsons Parsons rebuts Prof Ralph McInerny’s claim that the burden of proof should fall on the unbeliever. Is Atheism Presumptuous? A Reply to Paul Copan (2000) by Jeffery Jay Lowder Lowder refutes Paul Copan’s claim that Antony […]

Evidential Arguments Evidential arguments for atheism attempt to show that certain known facts that are (at least so far as we can tell) consistent with theism nevertheless provide evidence against it. Typically, such arguments start with a known fact, such as the amount of suffering in the world. The arguments then attempt to show that […]

Atheistic Perspectives on Specific Ethical Issues Abortion: Is There a Secular Case Against Abortion? The Carrier-Roth Debate (2000) [ Index ] by Richard Carrier and Jennifer Roth A debate between two freethinkers, one pro-choice and one pro-life. Reproductive Freedom (1999) (Off Site) by Christopher A. Stafford and Janet Brazil Another secularist-vs.-secularist debate on abortion. Animal Rights: Secular Ethics […]

On Naturalism, Why Do We Have Particular Moral Dispositions? Review of Darwinian Natural Right: The Biological Ethics of Human Nature by Larry Arnhart (2002) by Evan Fales It has become something of a leitmotif among evangelical apologetes to argue that morality can have no objective foundation if there is no God. Such is the argument […]

Without God, How Do We Determine What’s Right and Wrong? Nonbelievers have several options when it comes to choosing a normative ethical theory. These options include ethical egoism, Kantian ethics, utilitarianism, virtue ethics, social contract theory, and ideal observer theory, to name just some of the numerous choices available. Since an entire website could be […]

Debates See also Theistic Arguments: Debates [ Index ] Debate Transcripts The Cooke-Aijaz Debate: Does God Exist? (2002) An Internet debate on the existence of God between Dr. Bill Cooke of the New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists and Imran Aijaz of the Auckland University Islamic Society. (See also the debate review, below). The Craig-Washington Debate: […]

Atheistic Cosmological Argument   [ Român / Romanian ] In recent years, Quentin Smith has tried to turn the tables on theists by arguing that Big Bang cosmology, if true, is evidence for atheism. This page highlights the relevant articles that are available online. Atheism, Theism, and Big Bang Cosmology (1991) by Quentin Smith Smith […]

Arguments from Confusion “There are two things,” your mother may have warned, “that you should never discuss over dinner: religion and politics.” Confusion about such fundamental issues as the nature of God or ultimate reality, the purpose of life, how one should live, what has been revealed to mankind, what constitutes right and wrong, what […]

Arguments for Atheism In this section, “arguments for atheism” means “arguments for the nonexistence of God.” (Worried about the logic of “proving a negative”? Click here.) In the jargon of the philosophy of religion, such arguments are known as “atheological arguments.” The argument from evil (sometimes referred to as ‘the problem of evil’) is by […]

About Atheism An Introduction to Atheism (1997) by mathew This is a gentle but thorough introduction to the different varieties of atheism and agnosticism. It covers many common misunderstandings, and defines and explains terms used elsewhere. Recommended for all readers, religious or not. To provide a sense of cohesion and progression, the author has presented […]

Atheism About Atheism [ Index ] Various introductions to atheism, including its definition; its relationship to agnosticism, theism, and noncognitivism; and its value. Arguments for Atheism [ Index ] In this section, “arguments for atheism” means “arguments for the nonexistence of God.” In the jargon of the philosophy of religion, such arguments are known as “atheological arguments.” The argument […]

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Does the Free-Will Defense Constitute a Sound Theodicy? Niclas Berggren 1. Proem A strong argument against the existence of the Christian god (henceforth referred to as God) is contained in the theodicy problem, which can be stated in the following manner: If God exists, he is all-knowing, all-powerful, and perfectly good.[1] The existence of suffering […]

The Errancy of Fundamentalism Disproves the God of the Bible (1996) Niclas Berggren 1. Introduction This essay will investigate the often-made claim from Christians, that the Bible is the inspired word of god, a corollary of which is that it is perfectly without error. This view is exemplified by the following statement of Jimmy Swaggart, […]