Atheism and afterlife

[GSOgymrat]

Can an atheist believe in an afterlife? I am asking the question because I don't know the answer.

[stromboli]

Sure you can. I believe I'm going to come back as Brad Pitt lookalike and wow all the ladies. Either that or picking up dog poop for eternity because all dogs go to heaven.

[Baruch]

Can an atheist believe in an afterlife? I am asking the question because I don't know the answer.

Sure ... metaphysics doesn't imply theism ... it implies the whole range of ideas from anti-theism thru non-theism to theism.  And no, you don't have to believe in reincarnation to be metaphysical.  I think that some Buddhists and some Hindus are effectively non-theist, and not in an agnostic sort of way.

So do you accept Friedrich Nietzsche as your lord and savior?  (just kidding Joe).

[stromboli]

My early influence was Bucky Fuller. A systems theorist, futurist and an inventor. He was a Unitarian

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarianism#Other_beliefs

Something I have not seen discussed on here. So you can have your heaven without Jesus and a different set of ideas: big on free will, for example. I actually don't want an afterilfe. I've worked the shit out of this one and continue to do so.

[GSOgymrat]

I was in a discussion about atheism and said atheism means not believing in gods and didn't exclude belief in an afterlife but another atheist disagreed, that belief in an afterlife was incompatible with atheism. I wanted to get some other input.

[stromboli]

I was in a discussion about atheism and said atheism means not believing in gods and didn't exclude belief in an afterlife but another atheist disagreed, that belief in an afterlife was incompatible with atheism. I wanted to get some other input.

Atheism to me has never been a fixed set of rules like religion. I consider myself spiritual in some ways because I am uplifted by the beauty of nature, but others have poo poohed that. Whatever. Believe what you want. A-theism just means non belief in god.

[josephpalazzo]

Can an atheist believe in an afterlife? I am asking the question because I don't know the answer.

I think that if you're consistent with your atheistic position, the logical next step would be to ask: where's the evidence for an afterlife? If you have reasoned that there is a lack of evidence for the existence of God, then that question answers itself.

[Johan]

One of the main reasons that I'm athiest is because there is no verifiable evidence that god exists. Likewise, there is no verifiable evidence that any sort of afterlife exists. Therefore I personally could not be an athiest and also believe in an afterlife without feeling like a hypocrite. But that's me. Other people may feel they are atheist for completely different reasons and may therefore be perfectly comfortable accepting that an afterlife exists.

[Baruch]

I was in a discussion about atheism and said atheism means not believing in gods and didn't exclude belief in an afterlife but another atheist disagreed, that belief in an afterlife was incompatible with atheism. I wanted to get some other input.

This has been discussed before, over the last 7 months I have been posting here.  Basically "atheist, agnostic, materialist, physicalist and secularist" these all overlap, and don't exactly match each other either.  People fight over this, like in the recent atheist/agnostic fight.  Joe speaks of evidence, and this is a classic English Empiricist position (maybe also Scottish Common Sense position).  But the world isn't all English and Scottish.  A materialist position, and perhaps a physicalist position isn't compatible with an afterlife.  Ancient/medieval physics was materialist ... but it moved on to include "fields" and so became woo woo (just joking) and became physicalist (material plus fields).  For some modern English Empiricism implies modern physicalist science.  A secularist would be someone who doesn't want religious influence or dominance in his society or family or person.  Unless you have an extended conversation with someone, and are clear on your own understanding, it is hard to figure out what someone is saying.  Of course that is assuming that you care to.

[GSOgymrat]

I think that if you're consistent with your atheistic position, the logical next step would be to ask: where's the evidence for an afterlife? If you have reasoned that there is a lack of evidence for the existence of God, then that question answers itself.

My atheism isn't based in lack of evidence but because God as a concept makes no sense to me. I don't need evidence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe to believe it exists because the concept of how life evolves makes sense. An afterlife as a concept makes more sense to me than a god.

[josephpalazzo]

My atheism isn't based in lack of evidence but because God as a concept makes no sense to me. I don't need evidence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe to believe it exists because the concept of how life evolves makes sense. An afterlife as a concept makes more sense to me than a god.

An eternal, happy life makes more sense than a suffering life that ends in death. Why would I believe in the former?  To many QM doesn't make sense, yet it's closer to explain reality than what was there before, classical physics. There are plenty of concepts that make sense, but does not mean they are real or should give me reasons to believe in them. I'm not sure whether a concept that makes sense or not  is reason enough to believe in it. Just my two cents, ;-)

[Solomon Zorn]

Okay, they say I'm schizophrenic, but I can hear voices that seem to be of the living, but could just as easily be the dead. They seem to be observing my life. I can't present this as evidence, for anyone else to believe, but it gives me a grounds for curiosity.

[GSOgymrat]

An eternal, happy life makes more sense than a suffering life that ends in death. Why would I believe in the former?  To many QM doesn't make sense, yet it's closer to explain reality than what was there before, classical physics. There are plenty of concepts that make sense, but does not mean they are real or should give me reasons to believe in them. I'm not sure whether a concept that makes sense or not  is reason enough to believe in it. Just my two cents, ;-)

There is no evidence that a god exists and the concept makes no sense. I know that "I" exist. It makes sense to me that the conditions that lead to the creation of "I" could happen again. Because "I" has existed once it makes more likely that "I" could exist again, as opposed to a god which has never existed. The fact that intelligent life has evolved once in the universe makes it more likely that it could evolve again as opposed to a universe where intelligent life has never existed. I'm not confident "I" will exist again but it seems more likely than a god.

[josephpalazzo]

There is no evidence that a god exists and the concept makes no sense. I know that "I" exist. It makes sense to me that the conditions that lead to the creation of "I" could happen again. Because "I" has existed once it makes more likely that "I" could exist again, as opposed to a god which has never existed. The fact that intelligent life has evolved once in the universe makes it more likely that it could evolve again as opposed to a universe where intelligent life has never existed. I'm not confident "I" will exist again but it seems more likely than a god.

I agree to the proposition that life exists on this planet, it can exist somewhere else in the universe. As a scientist, I believe in natural laws, so if life begins and evolves according to certain natural laws, it certainly can do this on another planet. That is not much of a stretch. OTOH, you believe that you exist once, you can exist again - in the realm of all possibilities, you can say that but it's not based on any natural laws. Like believing in God, it's more like wishful thinking.

[GSOgymrat]

I agree to the proposition that life exists on this planet, it can exist somewhere else in the universe. As a scientist, I believe in natural laws, so if life begins and evolves according to certain natural laws, it certainly can do this on another planet. That is not much of a stretch. OTOH, you believe that you exist once, you can exist again - in the realm of all possibilities, you can say that but it's not based on any natural laws. Like believing in God, it's more like wishful thinking.

Yes, it is a fantastical notion. I wouldn't call it something I would wish for though.