I know this will be hard to sell, but I'm going to try.
From our earliest Paleolithic ancestors, the unknown has always been framed under a paradigm in which the presumption has been there is a sentience, a mover, behind observations humans have been unable to explain. From questions about how rivers and wind flow, to how all this began and why, mankind has always assumed an agent or entities lie veiled and unseen behind these questions.
With Theism as the overwhelming dominant paradigm for millennia, those who began to question the assumption of the paradigm were labeled and defined by this paradigm as being in opposition to it. Atheism is not a positive belief statement, but rather a negative statement about the broad Theistic paradigm that has dominated human history and culture since the beginning.
Those labeled as Atheists, by allowing themselves to be defined in reference to a paradigm they don't believe or agree with, actually work against their interests. Arguing against Theism within the theistic paradigm only provides confirmation bias to the Theist that there is something there to argue against. It is almost self-defeating to argue within the theistic paradigm. It is time to reset the paradigm. A new paradigm is required in which one doesn't begin with a presumption or imagined answer to how this all began and why, but rather, a paradigm that simply starts with what is known, however little that may be.
This is why I am calling for the abandonment of the term Atheism and its definition (and, really, Agnosticism for that matter). It is time to assert a new paradigm, one that is a positive belief statement centered on reality, or all that is real and existent. This would be a belief that is not set in stone, frozen in time, but rather continually reflects our growing understanding of the cosmos and ourselves. It would be an acknowledgment of our limited understanding of the whole of reality and that there is still much that remains unknown. This paradigm would encourage investigation of the unknown, encourage speculation, creative thought, and hypothesis of the unknown, but maintain a clear boundary between that which is known to be real, and that which is still just imagined.
Now, this “wheel” may have already been invented, in which case I would love to hear it and encourage people to switch. If it has not, then, this new belief statement would require a label and concise definition. If others agree with my assessment, I would love to hear suggestions. A paradigm centered on reality, to me, naturally leads to looking at the word “real” as a root, but “Realityism” is quite awkward, and “Realism” is already taken. In fact, it would almost be best to make up an entirely new word that does not have any of the potential philosophical baggage of any existing words related to this subject. Here is a stab at the definition:
(New Label For Positive Belief Statement): A belief in reality, all that is real and existent; that reality is knowable, and a humble acknowledgment that the totality of reality is not yet known and may never be known.
So, any takers? Anyone ready to abandon the label Atheist?
From our earliest Paleolithic ancestors, the unknown has always been framed under a paradigm in which the presumption has been there is a sentience, a mover, behind observations humans have been unable to explain. From questions about how rivers and wind flow, to how all this began and why, mankind has always assumed an agent or entities lie veiled and unseen behind these questions.
With Theism as the overwhelming dominant paradigm for millennia, those who began to question the assumption of the paradigm were labeled and defined by this paradigm as being in opposition to it. Atheism is not a positive belief statement, but rather a negative statement about the broad Theistic paradigm that has dominated human history and culture since the beginning.
Those labeled as Atheists, by allowing themselves to be defined in reference to a paradigm they don't believe or agree with, actually work against their interests. Arguing against Theism within the theistic paradigm only provides confirmation bias to the Theist that there is something there to argue against. It is almost self-defeating to argue within the theistic paradigm. It is time to reset the paradigm. A new paradigm is required in which one doesn't begin with a presumption or imagined answer to how this all began and why, but rather, a paradigm that simply starts with what is known, however little that may be.
This is why I am calling for the abandonment of the term Atheism and its definition (and, really, Agnosticism for that matter). It is time to assert a new paradigm, one that is a positive belief statement centered on reality, or all that is real and existent. This would be a belief that is not set in stone, frozen in time, but rather continually reflects our growing understanding of the cosmos and ourselves. It would be an acknowledgment of our limited understanding of the whole of reality and that there is still much that remains unknown. This paradigm would encourage investigation of the unknown, encourage speculation, creative thought, and hypothesis of the unknown, but maintain a clear boundary between that which is known to be real, and that which is still just imagined.
Now, this “wheel” may have already been invented, in which case I would love to hear it and encourage people to switch. If it has not, then, this new belief statement would require a label and concise definition. If others agree with my assessment, I would love to hear suggestions. A paradigm centered on reality, to me, naturally leads to looking at the word “real” as a root, but “Realityism” is quite awkward, and “Realism” is already taken. In fact, it would almost be best to make up an entirely new word that does not have any of the potential philosophical baggage of any existing words related to this subject. Here is a stab at the definition:
(New Label For Positive Belief Statement): A belief in reality, all that is real and existent; that reality is knowable, and a humble acknowledgment that the totality of reality is not yet known and may never be known.
So, any takers? Anyone ready to abandon the label Atheist?
