By Mathew Goldstein
Here is a copy of the opening statement in Austin Dacey's 2004 debate with William Lane Craig at Purdue University. He argues for atheism properly and effectively - by examining the direction of the overall empirical evidences. I encourage people to take the 17 minutes required to watch, and ponder, the arguments. Austin Dacey, who has a PhD in philosophy, makes the following five simple arguments in this video for the conclusion that there is "insufficient evidence for theism and overwhelming evidence for atheism":
* Hiddenness of God
* Success of science
* Mind-brain connection
* Evolution
* Pointless suffering
3 comments:
One could argue that these proofs are "confirmation bias" just like Thomas Aquinas'5 proofs of God existence. They come after the belief, they are not the cause of the belief (or "abelief").
Evidences can be, and often is, biased, either for or against proposition. As long as we are following the evidences wherever they go, we are innocent of exhibiting confirmation bias. Austin Dacey is nothing short of magnanimous in adopting the attitude that if there is evidence for a god communicating simultaneously with all of humanity for the purpose of evidencing itself then he will convert to theism. He is insisting on anchoring belief in evidence that properly makes the belief reasonable. As far as I can see, declaring confirmation bas is just a catch-all defense mechanism for theism on your part.
I am not a theist; I was just playing the devil s'advocate ... if there is any evidence that devils exist .:)
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