Atheists still believe in the supernatural, new report finds
bigthink.com
Just because you don't believe in God doesn't mean you aren't superstitious.

Posting this because I think it’s an interesting examination of the overlap (or lack thereof) between atheists and general skeptics. It’s worth remembering that the term ‘atheism’ only means a rejection of theistic beliefs; non-theistic beliefs that are nonetheless irrational and unsupported by evidence are not relevant to the term. And yet one can easily see why there is an overlap between these two communities and why many atheists scoff at other atheists who profess belief in things like astrology, ghosts, reincarnation, etc.

I’m definitely one of those who doesn’t believe in anything supernatural, but I’ve certainly met atheists who do. It’s worth remembering the two groups aren’t synonymous.

  • Spzi@lemm.eeEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Could you elaborate, why do you believe that free will doesn’t exist?

    I’m another person, may I offer ‘my’ reasoning?

    (Free) will is a decision making process, generating a decision as it’s output. Basically, it’s an algorithm (arbitrarily complex).

    How can this algorithm generate it’s output? It can …

    1. Use available data to determine a decision (deterministic)
    2. Use a source of randomness to make a decision (random)
    3. Combine #1 and #2 (randomized deterministic)

    I cannot conceive or imagine any other option. Granted, this is an argument from ignorance. But I think however ‘free will’ works, it can be boiled down to one of these three approaches, or nested sub-algorithms which again build from these three ingredients.

    And none of that resembles what we mean when we say ‘free will’. Is it free if it is determined? Is it will if it is random?

    How is ‘free will’, fundamentally, different from algorithms available to computer games?

    For example, if I choose burger over pizza for lunch, my brain taps into available data (my taste preferences, what I ate recently, how I expect to feel after eating either choice, …) and does it in a fuzzy way which involves some randomness. I arrive at a choice which I want, because I prefer it (in a random margin). I could have chosen otherwise, if the data had been different to change my decision, or if the random influence tipped the scales the other way.

    Maybe it just feels like being in control because we cannot tell the result of the calculation until the calculation has finished. Weighing the options and settling for a decision is that process.

    I love discussing this, so please challenge my view, you’re welcome!