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2 results

  • 2 - Motivations for Atheism

  • Rik Peels, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
  • Book:
    Life without God
    Published online:
    11 May 2023
    Print publication:
    25 May 2023, pp 17-49

  • Summary

    This chapter explains why most atheists are probably not primarily motivated by arguments for atheism and explore what atheists’ nonargumentative motivations could be; things such as intellectual independence, moral repugnance, skepticism, and traumatic experiences.

Life without God
  • An Outsider's Look at Atheism
  • Rik Peels
  • Published online:
    11 May 2023
    Print publication:
    25 May 2023
  • In this book, Rik Peels explores atheism from a new perspective that aims to go beyond the highly polarized debate about arguments for and against God's existence. Since our beliefs about the most important things in life are not usually based on arguments, we should look beyond atheistic arguments and explore what truly motivates the atheist. Are there certain ideals or experiences that explain the turn to atheism? Could atheism be the default position for us, not requiring any arguments whatsoever? And what about the often-discussed arguments against belief in God—is there something that religious and nonreligious people alike can learn from them? This book explores how a novel understanding of atheism is possible – and how it effectively moves the God debate further. Believers and nonbelievers can learn much from Peels's assessment of arguments for and against atheism.