I often ask people, ‘What things are defined just by what they lack?’ – interestingly there are very few answers to this, but feel free to shoot some over and I’ll add them to the article. The reason I ask this is largely because of commonly heard, ‘atheism is only a lack of belief in…
So what is this ‘Normative’ thing all about anyway?
Language is descriptive. It is defined through use. People might describe their use of words in slightly different ways, be that through regional differences, common usages, or indeed there might be contextually correct usages of words. So what is this Normative thing all about then? When we speak about ‘Normative’ usage of words we largely…
Pitfalls of ‘New Atheism’
I’m an atheist. *Gasp* ‘Hold the phone!’ Hard to believe that an atheist runs an atheist site right? I’ve even been the keyboard warrior type of atheist, although that was many years ago. I spent lots of time debating theists desperately hoping that either they could provide me with some evidence of a deity, or…
Beliefs, Language, and Logic
Introduction Logic is an important part of rationality. After all, acting rationally is acting in accordance with reason and according to the rules of logic, among other things. Which means that understanding the rules of logic are important if one wants to claim rationality for oneself. There is more to logic than simply the rules…
Bad Atheist Arguments – Vol: 02 – Beliefs and Logic
Following on from volume 1: Bible and Evidence, I felt it prudent to follow this up with errors many fellow atheists make around beliefs. I too have made some of these statements in the past, and as I looked into things more I realised that some of these statements just don’t make sense or if…
The Burden of Proof – Belief vs Claim – Court Room Analogy
I’ve had the “Burden of Proof” discussion many times recently, and a lot of it comes down to semantic issues with definitions of claim & belief, as well as the logic around propositions.
I hope to clear up some of the confusion with this article….
Is nonbelief a belief? (hint: you might be surprised) – Conflated and Misunderstood Terms: Vol 8
“Nonbelief is a belief? Who knew…” – an often said sarcastic comment by many fellow atheists as a retort to theists calling atheism a religion or belief system. Whilst I agree atheism is not a religion, and that it is a polysemous word which has moved from the classical disbelief in the existence of gods…
Coherent and Consistent Beliefs
A wander through the many Facebook groups, YouTube videos, and Twitter tweeters with atheism as their central subject matter will see many atheists and sceptics making the claim of being rational. One could also look at the ‘memeosphere’ centred around atheism and scepticism to see images making claims like ‘I am a sceptic/atheist because I…
Do we Atheists have a Burden of Proof? – Conflated and Misunderstood Terms: Vol 7
“The burden is on the claimant!”, “I only lack belief so I have no burden”, “I don’t hold a belief as that is a claim” and other phrases are touted by many fellow atheists on the internet. Is this correct, or are we missing some of the picture? This article hopes to discuss What is…
Conflated and Misunderstood Terms – Volume 6: Unbelief and Disbelief
Unbelief (or non-belief) and disbelief are two words that seem to be conflated by many folks on the internet. I’m not sure if this is down to a misunderstanding of their definitions, or just due to how they are quite similar words. I’ve recently written a few articles that are worth reading before this article,…
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