Is Atheism Irrational?

[Applejack]

I didn't understand the materialism/evolution stuff. Can someone give me a short, non-gobbledeegook version of what it's about?

[CardiacCoug]

I understood it like this. For the believer in materialism/evolution:

1. A belief is a physical "material" collection of neurons.

2. There is no evolutionary pressure for these beliefs to be true, only for them to be evolutionarily advantageous.

3. Our beliefs are equally likely to be true or false, since they weren't evolutionarily selected for truth or falsehood.

Here is where he stops making sense IMO:

4. To believe in both materialism and evolution requires hundreds of independent beliefs that align with those views.

5. It's statistically highly unlikely that all those independent beliefs are true (since evolution doesn't select for true beliefs) and so you have to reject either evolution or the material (neuronal) nature of belief.

That's as simple as I can make it I think. It's the kind of philosophical mumbo jumbo that never made sense to me, honestly.

[Topper]

Cardiac a good summary.

Materialism states there is on matter in the world.

Evolution is the adaptive capacity of life forms. I am not certain I agree that evolution always leads to an advantageous result.

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[Applejack]

I understood it like this. For the believer in materialism/evolution:

1. A belief is a physical "material" collection of neurons.

2. There is no evolutionary pressure for these beliefs to be true, only for them to be evolutionarily advantageous.

3. Our beliefs are equally likely to be true or false, since they weren't evolutionarily selected for truth or falsehood.

Here is where he stops making sense IMO:

4. To believe in both materialism and evolution requires hundreds of independent beliefs that align with those views.

5. It's statistically highly unlikely that all those independent beliefs are true (since evolution doesn't select for true beliefs) and so you have to reject either evolution or the material (neuronal) nature of belief.

That's as simple as I can make it I think. It's the kind of philosophical mumbo jumbo that never made sense to me, honestly.

Thanks. That is more clear. I think.