Atheism 2.0

“Atheism 2.0” is a 20 minute TED presentation by Alain de Botton in which he proposes a new approach to evangelising atheism. Alain suggests (apparently without evidence) that we have “secularised badly” and we should sift through the rituals, traditions, and behaviours of religion to identify and adopt their efficient mechanisms.

“I have come here because I am in search of morality, guidance, and consolation.”

He says universities (and by extension, science) is not concerned with the search for “morality, guidance, and consolation”. Alain seems to be suggesting science has lost its humanity and become the heartless search of the machine inside the ghost. Religions on the other hand treat us like children in urgent need of assistance. We are broken, miserable sheep who yearn for the return of their shepherd who will tell us where to go, what to do, and how to think.

“A sermon wants to change your life and a lecture wants to give you some information”

Alain tells us religious sermons “advise people how hey could live” (which presumedly result in “morality, guidance, and consolation”), but secularism merely lecturers heartless facts. Religions use repetition and emotions to convince believers the sermons are somehow deep insights revealing the true fabric of reality.

At the heart of Alain’s statements seems to be an assumption; Science has all the answers and we will never need to change our minds again. University lecturers never update or revise the facts they preach, never listen to the counter arguments, never conduct further research. Students are there to learn the holy truths as revealed by Great Science. We can finally cease being skeptical, questioning, and inquiring, and finally resort to pure emotional evangelism and repetitive brainwashing to convince the populous of the Truth(™).

Of course, this throws the baby out with the bath water.

Science is fundamentally different to religion preciously because it does not claim to have the truth. All things in science are provisionally true; they are considered true until evidence it’s wrong comes along. Sometimes this results in almost imperceptible changes in the views of science, and others it causes massive tectonic shifts in our thinking. Science eagerly hunts out where it may be wrong and ruthlessly interrogates itself. It perversely seeks the curious mind to torture its doubts until they are satiated.

Scientific discoveries are not things we can enforce through emotional appeals and repetition. Science is a process; a mind set; a philosophical approach. Without the ability to question, doubt, and argue science fails.

I think this is why Alain’s argument also fails.

Tagged with: Alain de Botton, Atheism 2.0, Dogma, Religion, Science

Oliver Findlay

I think you need to watch the video again and actually listen to what he says.

You are assuming by extension to science, and even if true you are assuming also that he refers at all to science as some kind of heartless entity. He does not state this at all only that the way religion carries out some of its tasks could be well used in a more secular/atheistic way. And no where does he ever say that everything religion does is correct.

He does not say a religious sermon he says a sermon in itself. The association you give it is your own, and one that he does not give himself during the speech.

Also I don’t believe he argues that science has all the answers either. What he does is take from one subject matter, and outlook if you will, some of the points that could be used to benefit another subject matter and outlook. He never claims that science has all the answers, that we are children in need of guidance or that we never need to question or be skeptical about anything any more. The closest he gets to any of those points is his outlining of the need for calenders and what they can or could possibly represent. Again another use of something for which we probably don’t utilise all that often.

Ollie :)

http://godless.biz Andrew Skegg

See you on Sunday :)

Emkane

His whole argument is based on the false premises that without religion the only moral guidance comes from CNN and Walmart. There is NOTHING that religion offers that can’t be found from a secular source.

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Atheism 2.0

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Atheism 2.0