Atheism in contemporary British philosophy

ABSTRACT The present study deals with the issue of atheism and attempts to clarify the claims made in its name by referring especially to atheism as discussed in contemporary British philosophy and by limiting the study to the terminology developed by the contemporary British philosophers. Atheism, as a philosophical term, includes both the criticism and the rejection of theism. In general, it involves a negative stand against the concept of the God of the Semitic religions seen as the creator and transcendent. It takes the form of interpreting existence, the universe, and life. Beyond the philosophical approach, for some it involves a practical way of life. At its root atheism aims to refute the assertions and arguments of theism and present its own claims. In this process the philosophical and practical foundations of atheism have been laid and the arguments set forth. This thesis entitled, Atheism in Contemporary British Philosophy, firstly focuses on defining atheism and noting its varieties, its realty, and history in brief. It also examines atheism's relationship to other philosophical theories that consider the existence or non-existence of God such as theism, deism, pantheism, and agnosticism. It then looks at the theories and discussions that have stemmed from the debates between theists and atheists. It particularly focuses on the analyses presented by verificationist, functionalist, linguistic, and conativist philosophers, and how they have, on the whole, dealt with the claims of believers and theists. Also, the criticisms of belief in God within contemporary British philosophy are studied along with the various objections to the concept of God. In addition, the criticisms and reasons for rejecting the theistic proofs of God, that is, the ontological, cosmological, and teleological proofs as well as the religious experience argument for the existence of God are considered. At the end, this study takes up moral atheism by examining the relationship between ethics and belief in God and the problem of evil by examining the so- called conflict between the existence of evil and belief in God.