Well, ok. And maybe that’s more accurate. Like amoral and immoral, maybe the opposite of theism should antitheism. But it is used that way and if we’re debating athiesm and agnostisim, I am saying that is different that a positive assertion of…let’s say a belief in nonexistence.
Damn. Even defining terms can be tricky. This would make more sense but I’m just leaving…
betenoir:
Hmm. Sorry, but that is precisely the point I was trying to address. <putting debating trophies in a box, stowing them in the attic>
Yes, the term IS, in fact, used to express a positive belief. Just as “nauseous” is typically used to mean “nauseated.” It’s wrong. And in a discussion where the crux rests directly on definition, I think we should all avoid wishy-washy “modern usage” and “changing paradigms of meaning.”
I think that the reason for all the fuss about definitions (on my part as well) is the social stigma attached to atheism. By strict logical definition, many, perhaps most, people who consider themselves agnostic are also atheist. And they don’t wanna be. Their mothers would be heartbroken. Mine is.
The NON-belief described by atheism does not define the REASONS for its adoption. That is, one can be atheist for lots of reasons…here are just a few supersets:
Implicit atheism is one type such as is felt by a person who has no idea what we’re all talking about—has never had any exposure to any sort of spirituality (like a three-year-old), and thus is atheist by default.
Explicit atheism is a REJECTION of a belief in a god. This type of atheism presupposes a familiarity with theistic beliefs and is sometimes characterized as “anti-theism” as you suggested. There are many motivations for explicit atheism, some rational and some not. One of the rational ones is “before I believe in anything, I want some sort of shred of real, observable proof” (Reductive Materialism as subscribed to by our friend VileOrb)
The two categories are further divided, and often labeled “hard” and “soft” atheism…sort of. (Soft atheism is beginning to mean atheistic agnostic, which is actually only a subset of implicit atheism)
And yes, I understand that you can call yourself whatever you wish—but if you call yourself a leopard, don’t complain when people ask you about your spots.
Thank you, and Goodnight.