NationStates Jolt Archive


Atheist or Naturalist?

Balipo
12-10-2005, 18:50
In reading some articles from a place down the road that has the curious title Center for Inquiry, I found that there is a difference between being an atheist and a naturalist, and I have yet to figure out which best describes me. Here are the definitions:

naturalist: n. 1: an advocate of the doctrine that the world can be understood in scientific terms 2: a biologist knowledgeable about natural history (especially botany and zoology) [syn: natural scientist]

(obviously I'm referring to definition one up there)

a·the·ist: n. One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods

For more information on naturalism Click Here (http://www.centerforinquiry.net). (This site also has great arguments against Creationism/ID)
The Bloated Goat
12-10-2005, 18:55
I suppose I'm a naturalist. After all, you have to understand the world before you can conquer it. ;)
New Watenho
12-10-2005, 19:12
What is contradictory about being both atheist and naturalist, that you put them as mutually exclusive options?
Balipo
12-10-2005, 19:14
I'm leaning more toward Naturalist as well, it sounds like it supercedes being an atheist...like an atheist with data! :)
Safalra
12-10-2005, 19:18
What is contradictory about being both atheist and naturalist, that you put them as mutually exclusive options?
I agree. This poll needs to be redone.
The Noble Men
12-10-2005, 19:19
I'm sticking with Atheist.

Else I'd have to rename my Region Naturalist Haven.

Anyway, I thought a naturalist was a term for nudist?
Safalra
12-10-2005, 19:24
Anyway, I thought a naturalist was a term for nudist?

That would be 'naturist'. People frequently call them 'naturalists' though.
Uber Awesome
12-10-2005, 19:29
Strange that there is not an option to be both.
Balipo
12-10-2005, 19:30
What is contradictory about being both atheist and naturalist, that you put them as mutually exclusive options?

Well, I think an atheist says, "I don't believe in a god" whereas a naturalist says, "I don't believe in anything that is not supported by falsifiable evidence, and here's why....."

That's the main difference as I see it.
Balipo
12-10-2005, 19:32
Strange that there is not an option to be both.

Sorry...I thought of naturalist as encompassing atheist while atheist was a microcosm of naturalism without holding to all the tenets therein.

Like a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not necessarilly a square.
G3N13
12-10-2005, 19:32
I don't believe in a God regardless of her name.
Uber Awesome
12-10-2005, 19:33
Sorry...I thought of naturalist as encompassing atheist while atheist was a microcosm of naturalism without holding to all the tenets therein.

Like a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not necessarilly a square.

Oh yeah. My mistake!
[NS]Olara
12-10-2005, 19:39
Basically, I think you can be an atheist (not necessarily believing in a god) and still not be a naturalist. For instance, if you believe that trees, rocks, the earth, humans, and other things, have spirits, then you are not a naturalist, even if you don't believe in a god. You can't, however, be a naturalist without being an atheist. Naturalism is the belief that the natural world is all there is. This precludes there being a god, and therefore obliges a naturalist--in the philosophical sense of the word--to be an atheist.
Balipo
12-10-2005, 19:57
Olara']Basically, I think you can be an atheist (not necessarily believing in a god) and still not be a naturalist. For instance, if you believe that trees, rocks, the earth, humans, and other things, have spirits, then you are not a naturalist, even if you don't believe in a god. You can't, however, be a naturalist without being an atheist. Naturalism is the belief that the natural world is all there is. This precludes there being a god, and therefore obliges a naturalist--in the philosophical sense of the word--to be an atheist.


That was kind of my point. But thank you for articulating it much better than I have.