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Carl Woese: "Yes, I do not like people saying that atheism is based on science, because it’s not. It’s an alien invasion of science." [4]

[rationalreligion.co.uk]

Mcflewster 8 Jan 30
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5 comments

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1

I do not know what that even means.

Atheism is a belief position on a very narrow topic. In itself, it has nothing to do with science.

It has to do with critical thinking. One of the things that tends to arise from critical thinking is atheism. Another is scientific endeavor. There's association, but not cause.

Not all atheists are skeptics either though. But the ones with the best reasons for their atheism are skeptics so I agree with you in that sense

0

I did not know that but will take it under advisement.

2

The article just says Woese "believed" but doesn't give much detail about that belief, and Woese apparently had no evidence to offer, just some kind of affection for religion, but I can see how the article serves the purposes of the "Rational Religion" site.
So, thanks for posting; it's a topic worthy of discussion, but I'm giving Umar Nasser my Nothingburger Award for his article.

skado Level 9 Jan 30, 2019
1

I agree that atheism is not based on science, but calling it an alien invasion is a bit over the top. The question if there is a god or not has no impact on science. You can be a believer, an atheist or call yourself an agnostic but as long as you stick to the scientific method there is no conflict there. You don't have to be anything.
There is another thing I'd like to mention. I get the feeling that your definition of atheism is someone who believes there is no god. But many people actually think that atheism is just a lack of a belief in god, so there would only be two opposing positions regarding the belief in a god: atheism and theism. Agnosticism in this view is about the question if you can have knowledge about the existence of a god. So there could be agnostic atheists, agnostic theists, gnostic atheists and gnostic theists.
If you don't want to adopt this language keep in mind that this is a fairly common use these days and you might want to avoid misunderstandings.

Dietl Level 7 Jan 30, 2019

You are absolutely right. Is it the same with the Male/Female divide?
So there could be unsure males, sure males, sure females, unsure females and just mixed up kids. Gender sure is all about knowing.

@Mcflewster Yes, I'm sure there are people who are unsure about their gender but don't confuse this with transgender people because a trans person knows which gender they are.

0

I prefer to say that all scientists must be agnostic. If you want to defend science you MUST be agnostic. Why would anyone starting to prove and advance scientific knowledge by ensuring a level playing field be anything else but agnostic. We must assume, that is, lack of predisposition and/ or bias?

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