Your favorite Atheists

Bertrand Russel is one of the philosophers who has shaped my thinking as is Carl Sagan (A Demon Haunted World was one of the first books that made me seriously question the beliefs I grew up with).

But there are a pile of Atheist who I like ranging from family members none of you would recognize to Tim Minchin or Paul Giamatti.

Red Economist said:

If I define "favorite" in terms of the atheists ideas I use most, I'd say Nietzsche (because of the ethical problems that come up), Feuerbach and perhaps Freud (as sexual projection is a novel way to think about the origins and experience of god). I'd like to say Karl Marx didn't have a huge amount to say on God as he borrowed his Atheism from Feuerbach and too it for granted god did not exist. Though I don't know them that well and this mainly from stuff I've got off Wikipedia.

The reason is because I think of Atheism as liberating and each of these adds to that in some way.

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I am not sure Marx is a good example of atheism or an atheist. His critique of religion and Christians/Christianity seemed to waffle a bit.

I like Matt Dillahunty from the Atheist experience show.

Some of my favourite atheists include;

The Dalai Lama, an amazing man and true statesman.
Thomas Jefferson, for writing the Jefferson Bible and being a great advocate of secularism.
Albert Einstein.

Underhill said:

But there are a pile of Atheist who I like ranging from family members none of you would recognize to Tim Minchin or Paul Giamatti.

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Tim Minchin would come pretty close to the top of my list
..along with Dara O'Briain, Marcus Brigstocke and a few other comedians, especially Dave Allen (one from my formative years)

Asimov and Harry Harrison definitely helped confirm my view of myself as an atheist when I was young (especially the latter - the Stainless Steel Rat was the first explicitly self-declared atheist character I can remember reading about).

Terry Pratchett & Douglas Adams feature strongly, too.

Probably my wife.

Red Economist said:

If I define "favorite" in terms of the atheists ideas I use most, I'd say Nietzsche (because of the ethical problems that come up), Feuerbach and perhaps Freud (as sexual projection is a novel way to think about the origins and experience of god). I'd like to say Karl Marx didn't have a huge amount to say on God as he borrowed his Atheism from Feuerbach and too it for granted god did not exist. Though I don't know them that well and this mainly from stuff I've got off Wikipedia.

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Good call.

Freud and Nietzsche are certainly more interesting than the primitive new atheists. John Gray (Black Mass, The silence of Animals, the soul of the Marionette) is always interesting too.

In my opinion, the more 'rational' an atheist intellectual considers themselves, and the greater credence they give to human's potential for rationality to solve human flaws, the more they display a characteristic that they frequently deride in believers - misplaced confidence in the correctness and universality of their beliefs.

While these are not specifically about atheism, John Gray's critique of Pinker and Pinker's response regarding human 'progress' illustrate the different views

John Gray: Steven Pinker is wrong about violence and war | Books | The Guardian

Guess what? More people are living in peace now. Just look at the numbers| Steven Pinker | Comment is free | The Guardian

Whoever you agree with, it is an interesting contrast in atheistic worldviews. Personally, given the 20th C was the most secular, the most scientifically advanced and the most violent century, I'm with John Gray on this one.

Kilgore Trout said:

Probably my wife.

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I must agree.
It's an odd compliment to give to an atheist, but....
The woman must be a saint.

I'd never put up (or out) with you.

Revoltingest said:

I must agree.
It's an odd compliment to give to an atheist, but....
The woman must be a saint.

I'd never put up (or out) with you.

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If I had feelings, I suspect this might have caused them to get hurt.

Kilgore Trout said:

If I had feelings, I suspect this might have caused them to get hurt.

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No, they'd be fine.
You wouldn't tolerate me as a spouse either.

Now, back on topic....
I wondered if Hedy Lamarr was an atheist, but I found no info on the topic.
(I suspected it cuz she was a scientist who also did nude scenes as a movie star.)