Atheists are not nearly as rationional as some think.

[David T]

Interesting article in a science mag!!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/phys.org/news/2018-09-atheists-rational.amp


Atheists aren not nearly as rational at some think they are. So says the article..... I have been saying that here on RF since i started . After all if you are in "religUS forums" reading this article and an atheist, it certainly is not for scientific rational reasons. Maybe atheists can give some non rational reasons why they are here. Then again that might be like asking a religious creationist to give a rational explanation for 7 day creation!!!!!!!

I can only imagine for some its a sense of superior reasoning over religion. Then again thats a bit like picking on the disabled so its only for gratification of the ego and that specifically is Not rational but rationalizing. .lots of that goes on here to say the least.

 

[exchemist]

Interesting article in a science mag!!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/phys.org/news/2018-09-atheists-rational.amp


Atheists aren not nearly as rational at some think they are. So says the article..... I have been saying that here on RF since i started . After all if you are in "religUS forums" reading this article and an atheist, it certainly is not for scientific rational reasons. Maybe atheists can give some non rational reasons why they are here. Then again that might be like asking a religious creationist to give a rational explanation for 7 day creation!!!!!!!

I can only imagine for some its a sense of superior reasoning over religion. Then again thats a bit like picking on the disabled so its only for gratification of the ego and that specifically is Not rational but rationalizing. .lots of that goes on here to say the least.

Nonot as rationional? Whatevever next? Ratigarlical?

Covfefe?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Interesting article in a science mag!!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/phys.org/news/2018-09-atheists-rational.amp


Atheists aren not nearly as rational at some think they are. So says the article..... I have been saying that here on RF since i started . After all if you are in "religUS forums" reading this article and an atheist, it certainly is not for scientific rational reasons. Maybe atheists can give some non rational reasons why they are here. Then again that might be like asking a religious creationist to give a rational explanation for 7 day creation!!!!!!!

I can only imagine for some its a sense of superior reasoning over religion. Then again thats a bit like picking on the disabled so its only for gratification of the ego and that specifically is Not rational but rationalizing. .lots of that goes on here to say the least.

Click bait?

 

[JoshuaTree]

Atheists are predestined to be here, but don't tell them that they will be mad.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Maybe atheists can give some non rational reasons why they are here.

Sure:

- habit.
- I'm uncomfortable with the implications of leaving.

More on that second point: the justifications I've seen here by theists for their theism have been almost universally irrational nonsense. I've been tempted many times to leave, but I feel that if I do, I'll be resigning myself to contempt for something that forms a core part of the identity for most of the people on Earth.

I don't want to dismiss the majority of the planet as dupes who have fallen for nonsense, but I feel like that would be the implication if I leave. So I stay in the hope that someone, some day, might present a rational defense of theism, despite the fact that everything I've seen so far suggests no such defense is coming.

I can only imagine for some its a sense of superior reasoning over religion.

For me, it's the opposite: I stay because of my (irrational) resistance to coming to that conclusion.

 

[JoshuaTree]

Sure:

- habit.
- I'm uncomfortable with the implications of leaving.

More on that second point: the justifications I've seen here by theists for their theism have been almost universally irrational nonsense. I've been tempted many times to leave, but I feel that if I do, I'll be resigning myself to contempt for something that forms a core part of the identity for most of the people on Earth.

I don't want to dismiss the majority of the planet as dupes who have fallen for nonsense, but I feel like that would be the implication if I leave. So I stay in the hope that someone, some day, might present a rational defense of theism, despite the fact that everything I've seen so far suggests no such defense is coming.


For me, it's the opposite: I stay because of my (irrational) resistance to coming to that conclusion.

So you are saying you can't leave, right?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

So you are saying you can't leave, right?

I'm saying I haven't left yet.

 

[JoshuaTree]

If science could prove people don't have free will would atheists believe it or not?

 

[Quintessence]

If science could prove people don't have free will would atheists believe it or not?

I don't know why one would think this is a generalizable question, considering atheists are not some sort of hive mind and one's response to questions regarding gods is independent from one's feelings about particular sciences.

 

[JoshuaTree]

I don't know why one would think this is a generalizable question, considering atheists are not some sort of hive mind and one's response to questions regarding gods is independent from one's feelings about particular sciences.

Apologies, I was trying to be funny... atheists of course couldn't change their minds if there is no free will.

 

[JoshuaTree]

If I had friends they would all be atheists.

 

[JoshuaTree]

* sigh *

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

If science could prove people don't have free will would atheists believe it or not?

Yes.

FYI: if you're actually interested in atheist attitudes toward free will: several of the older episodes of the Non-Prophets podcast talk about the subject. It's mostly arguing... almost one of those "4 different opinions in a room with 3 people" situation.

It won't give you the entire breadth of atheist opiniond on the subject, but at least it'll get across that there's no one atheist position.

 

[Woberts]

* sigh *

*louder sigh*

 

[JoshuaTree]

*louder sigh*

You too, huh?

 

[Nakosis]

Interesting article in a science mag!!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/phys.org/news/2018-09-atheists-rational.amp


Atheists aren not nearly as rational at some think they are. So says the article..... I have been saying that here on RF since i started . After all if you are in "religUS forums" reading this article and an atheist, it certainly is not for scientific rational reasons. Maybe atheists can give some non rational reasons why they are here. Then again that might be like asking a religious creationist to give a rational explanation for 7 day creation!!!!!!!

I can only imagine for some its a sense of superior reasoning over religion. Then again thats a bit like picking on the disabled so its only for gratification of the ego and that specifically is Not rational but rationalizing. .lots of that goes on here to say the least.

So some folks have some irrational views about atheism. Not exactly a mind blowing revelation

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

The article is written in language that seems intended to impart to the reader that it is an unbiased, truth-seeking article, however there are several nuggets in there that strongly suggest otherwise:

Like this this toward the top:

But just because you believe in evidence-based, scientific research – which is subject to strict checks and procedures – doesn't mean that your mind works in the same way.

When you ask atheists about why they became atheists (as I do for a living), they often point to eureka moments when they came to realise that religion simply doesn't make sense.


Oddly perhaps, many religious people actually take a similar view of atheism. This comes out when theologians and other theists speculate that it must be rather sad to be an atheist, lacking (as they think atheists do) so much of the philosophical, ethical, mythical and aesthetic fulfilments that religious people have access to – stuck in a cold world of rationality only.

This reads so much like a poorly thought-out theistic argument, in that there is absolutely nothing presented that ties the premise to the supposedly supporting follow-up items:

• First it makes the statement: "just because you believe in evidenced based stuff doesn't mean your mind works the same way"
• Then follows that up with saying that atheists often report that they come to a moment in time where they feel religion just doesn't make sense.
• And lastly say that religious people often feel similarly that atheism doesn't make sense.

WHERE is the justification or explanation of that first idea (blue above) that atheists minds may not work the "same way" as the evidenced/research-based methods of fact-finding that the article espouses them to??

Then there's this:

Some parents take the view that their children should choose their beliefs for themselves, but what they then do is pass on certain ways of thinking about religion, like the idea that religion is a matter of choice rather than divine truth. It's not surprising that almost all of these children – 95% – end up "choosing" to be atheist.

... which is all just specious supposition. It is likely true that "some parents take the view that their children should choose their beliefs for themselves", but of those "some parents", what real leg-work has been done to establish that "what they then do is pass on certain ways of thinking about religion?" They throw the "95%" figure in there to make it seem like legitimate research is in there somewhere... but this is nothing more than a baseless assertion that most people will accept simply because it sounds entirely plausible.

This may very well be what happens much of the time - that kids get impressions from their parents regarding what the parents think about religion, and if that ends up being disdain of some form, a child may see atheism as an easy path to avoid possibly disappointing a parent by becoming part of "that darn religion."

The lack of real meat here, along with the facetious use of quotes around the word "choosing" - when it hasn't been established that parents indeed do fully influence this 95% of children noted - puts this article in a very biased light for me. It completely lacks credibility in my eyes.

 

[Willamena]

Interesting article in a science mag!!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/phys.org/news/2018-09-atheists-rational.amp


Atheists aren not nearly as rational at some think they are. So says the article..... I have been saying that here on RF since i started . After all if you are in "religUS forums" reading this article and an atheist, it certainly is not for scientific rational reasons. Maybe atheists can give some non rational reasons why they are here. Then again that might be like asking a religious creationist to give a rational explanation for 7 day creation!!!!!!!

I can only imagine for some its a sense of superior reasoning over religion. Then again thats a bit like picking on the disabled so its only for gratification of the ego and that specifically is Not rational but rationalizing. .lots of that goes on here to say the least.

We can be here for rational reasons that have nothing to do with science.

 

[shunyadragon]

Interesting article in a science mag!!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/phys.org/news/2018-09-atheists-rational.amp


Atheists aren not nearly as rational at some think they are. So says the article..... I have been saying that here on RF since i started . After all if you are in "religUS forums" reading this article and an atheist, it certainly is not for scientific rational reasons. Maybe atheists can give some non rational reasons why they are here. Then again that might be like asking a religious creationist to give a rational explanation for 7 day creation!!!!!!!

I can only imagine for some its a sense of superior reasoning over religion. Then again thats a bit like picking on the disabled so its only for gratification of the ego and that specifically is Not rational but rationalizing. .lots of that goes on here to say the least.

The statement that a 'belief system is ' not as rational as some think,' is not meaningful and has anecdotal and subjective assumptions as to 'what people think,' Everyone believes that their 'belief system' is rational, but the reality is that there is a degree of selfish rationalizing to conclude what one believes.

To what degree one has selfish motives for justifying what one believes is the question?

The problem with most traditional Theist beliefs is there are very strong motive of a sense of community and belong that are not rational.

This brings to mind the thread 'What is Blind Faith?'

 

[Milton Platt]

Interesting article in a science mag!!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/phys.org/news/2018-09-atheists-rational.amp


Atheists aren not nearly as rational at some think they are. So says the article..... I have been saying that here on RF since i started . After all if you are in "religUS forums" reading this article and an atheist, it certainly is not for scientific rational reasons. Maybe atheists can give some non rational reasons why they are here. Then again that might be like asking a religious creationist to give a rational explanation for 7 day creation!!!!!!!

I can only imagine for some its a sense of superior reasoning over religion. Then again thats a bit like picking on the disabled so its only for gratification of the ego and that specifically is Not rational but rationalizing. .lots of that goes on here to say the least.

So are you saying it is not rational to be interested in discussing religious topics if you are not religious? I am interested in lots of things I am not personally a part of.