Negative atheism? (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, December 09, 2014, 20:34 (3425 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID (under “Evidence for pattern development; mulling”): My intent upon being invited to this website was to challenge the concepts of atheism and agnosticism as negative approaches to the issue of "why is there anything", Leibniz famous question.
 
> dhw: Much as I abhor militant atheism (just as I abhor religious fundamentalism), I think “totally negative in their approach” is a negative approach in itself.-Perhaps I am too blunt in my statement, but not being able to reach a conclusion, to me is a negative result. I understand that you faithfully study all sides, but agnostically cannot bring yourself to a conclusion. Being unable to commit, for me is a negative result. I think there is enough evidence for the necessity of a first cause. That evidence says it must be supernatural, but it is unacceptable to you. Because you can't imagine it, or because you just don't want to believe it, or you demand more positive proof?-> dhw: An atheist has made up his mind that there is no God, but that doesn't stop him from asking how we got here, or why there is something.-But he insists on sticking to natural material causes, and won't admit to looking at anything else.-
> dhw: Theists have also made up their minds, but instead of asking why there is something, they may ask how God created the something we have.-True. We do.->dhw: Agnostics may have made up their minds that they can never know whether there is or isn't a god, but they can still try to find out why there is something.-
But only if they (as you do) look carefully at all possibilities.-> dhw: We are constantly told that the vast majority of people working in the sciences are atheists or agnostics. Why is it negative for them to assume that there is a material explanation which might possibly be found, and positive for their theistic colleagues to assume some form of conscious designer which we can't examine through the microscope or telescope?-Because the atheist refuses to look at the non-material side, but starts with full rejection. -> dhw: Nobody knows the answers, but the one brand of seeker seems to me no more and no less negative than the other.-We disagree in degrees of difference.