Beyond god and atheism: Why I am a 'possibilian'

#1

Post by cwtann » Mon, Sep 27, 2010, 7:08 PM UTC

Beyond god and atheism: Why I am a 'possibilian'
newscientist.com

Re: Beyond god and atheism: Why I am a 'possibilian'

#2

Post by cwtann » Mon, Sep 27, 2010, 7:12 PM UTC

I like his take on this. I normally describe myself as an atheist but only because I don't believe that any of the religions I've studied are true. But I am open to other possibilities and I think this guy describes that well.

Re: Beyond god and atheism: Why I am a 'possibilian'

#3

Post by markstansbury » Mon, Sep 27, 2010, 7:40 PM UTC

It's called agnosticism. It's not new.

"...in regard to the Olympic gods, speaking to a purely philosophical audience, I would say that I am an Agnostic. But speaking popularly, I think that all of us would say in regard to those gods that we were Atheists. In regard to the Christian God, I should, I think, take exactly the same line."

-Bertrand Russell

Re: Beyond god and atheism: Why I am a 'possibilian'

#4

Post by markstansbury » Mon, Sep 27, 2010, 7:42 PM UTC

markstansbury wrote: post #3

It's called agnosticism. It's not new. "...in regard to the Olympic gods, speaking to a purely philosophical audience, I would say that I am an Agnostic. But speaking popularly, I think that all of us would say in regard to those gods that we were Atheists. In regard to the Christian God, I should, I think, take exactly the same line." -Bertrand Russell

Here's a link to that Russell essay by the way. It's a good one.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/8299499/Am-I-an-Atheist-or-an-Agno...

Re: Beyond god and atheism: Why I am a 'possibilian'

#5

Post by ascuttlefish » Mon, Sep 27, 2010, 7:43 PM UTC

What happened to being a good old agnostic? I think that in attempting to fight against being pigeonholed as either a believer or a denier of god/gods, he lights on the notion that somehow being a better (or real) scientist by being open to possibilities is an alternative. With respect, there's already a reasonable alternative to being either a believer in or denier of god/gods: agnosticism. The open mind stuff just makes you a good scientist.

Edit: Oops, markstanbury beat me to it.

Re: Beyond god and atheism: Why I am a 'possibilian'

#6

Post by CamperBob » Mon, Sep 27, 2010, 8:18 PM UTC

cwtann wrote: post #2

I like his take on this. I normally describe myself as an atheist but only because I don't believe that any of the religions I've studied are true. But I am open to other possibilities and I think this guy describes that well.

Is there anyone outside of a mental institution who isn't open to other possibilities? There has to be something seriously wrong with you if you are willing to state a priori that you will not consider unequivocal evidence of a new phenomenon, should it appear.

Re: Beyond god and atheism: Why I am a 'possibilian'

#7

Post by sophacles » Mon, Sep 27, 2010, 8:38 PM UTC

I think this is a good example of meta-contrarianism. (see hn discussion/link at: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1730731).

Re: Beyond god and atheism: Why I am a 'possibilian'

#8

Post by joshuacc » Mon, Sep 27, 2010, 8:40 PM UTC

CamperBob wrote: post #6

cwtann wrote: post #2

I like his take on this. I normally describe myself as an atheist but only because I don't believe that any of the religions I've studied are true. But I am open to other possibilities and I think this guy describes that well.

Is there anyone outside of a mental institution who isn't open to other possibilities? There has to be something seriously wrong with you if you are willing to state a priori that you will not consider unequivocal evidence of a new phenomenon, should it appear.

While it's true that few would explicitly state that, there are certainly people on both sides that feel free to ignore inconvenient evidence.

Not exactly a shocking revelation, but humans aren't purely logic-driven beings.

Re: Beyond god and atheism: Why I am a 'possibilian'

#9

Post by adamtj » Mon, Sep 27, 2010, 8:48 PM UTC

CamperBob wrote: post #6

cwtann wrote: post #2

I like his take on this. I normally describe myself as an atheist but only because I don't believe that any of the religions I've studied are true. But I am open to other possibilities and I think this guy describes that well.

Is there anyone outside of a mental institution who isn't open to other possibilities? There has to be something seriously wrong with you if you are willing to state a priori that you will not consider unequivocal evidence of a new phenomenon, should it appear.

There are lots of people like that. It's very common and normal. Regardless of what people are willing to state, many will simply not consider unequivocal evidence of new phenomena if it contradicts their beliefs. They may recognize that the popular thing to do is claim to be open minded, and then disregard the evidence anyway. They may not even realize they're doing it.

Re: Beyond god and atheism: Why I am a 'possibilian'

#10

Post by lulin » Mon, Sep 27, 2010, 8:51 PM UTC

ascuttlefish wrote: post #5

What happened to being a good old agnostic? I think that in attempting to fight against being pigeonholed as either a believer or a denier of god/gods, he lights on the notion that somehow being a better (or real) scientist by being open to possibilities is an alternative. With respect, there's already a reasonable alternative to being either a believer in or denier of god/gods: agnosticism. The open mind stuff just…

I don't think agnosticism can really be called reasonable anymore. We now know so much about the universe that believing in any specific deity, or even just a general sense of the supernatural, seems akin to believing into Russel's teapot. Being atheist and being open minded are not mutually exclusive.