Atheism isn’t a concept based in science, it is either an argument of logic (logic can be “correct” or “false”) or it is a faith based belief system depending on the individual.
Many argue against this because they feel it undermines the position- but if we look at agnosticism we can see the contrast. Agnosticism is based on a foundation of scientific mindedness- an absence of evidence does not confirm something exists nor does it refute that existence. It simply means there isn’t enough data to make a conclusion.
Agnostics generally don’t believe that it is possible to gather direct evidence on the issue and thus is it an issue many agnostics simply don’t consider. Atheism requires belief, and the majority of atheists and argues itself rejects the possibility of an answer other than their conclusion. This is a form of dogma. Without evidence one can scientifically have a hypothesis- an idea- but a hypothesis Carrie’s basically no weight. It is the starting point for a theory.
A theory is of course something we must be able to test, verify, and replicate to attempt to validate. A god or gods are generally described as sentient- so simply requesting they provide proof of their existence is like writing a reply to this comment and if I do t respond, you assume I don’t exist. That concept is patently absurd to most sound minded people. One cannot use science or scientific thought to disprove the existence of the “unseen” anymore than one can prove it with the same. Any such issues come down to belief- interpretation of perceived evidence, but ultimately to one’s whims and predispositions or biases. We can generalize traits and factors common to those who “believe in god(s)” and their life experiences, just as we can with atheists- those generalizations will not be true of every person, but there are certain observable patterns or similarities which can be said to create or contribute to bias. Since neither side has hard evidence which can be presented…
.. through scientific processes to make their case, their arguments will be based on speculation and with the only evidence being intangible or more speculation, both are equal in whatever measure of objective delusion we could ascribe. Without proper process to come to a conclusion of fact, it doesn’t really matter if the conclusion is correct in the sense that there is no way to know it isn’t just a guess. In other words, we have a multiple choice question with two answers, you do not have to be intelligent or know the answer to get the answer right, you just have to chose one and get lucky.
The overall objective odds favor neither answer, so guessing an answer and then standing on concrete surety that you are correct is simply and act of faith, nothing more. It takes the same faith to believe in god(s) without hard proof as it does to disbelieve. That can be an external faith in an ideal or group consensus, or an internal faith in self that we posses the judgment to make that call
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Many argue against this because they feel it undermines the position- but if we look at agnosticism we can see the contrast. Agnosticism is based on a foundation of scientific mindedness- an absence of evidence does not confirm something exists nor does it refute that existence. It simply means there isn’t enough data to make a conclusion.
Agnostics generally don’t believe that it is possible to gather direct evidence on the issue and thus is it an issue many agnostics simply don’t consider. Atheism requires belief, and the majority of atheists and argues itself rejects the possibility of an answer other than their conclusion. This is a form of dogma. Without evidence one can scientifically have a hypothesis- an idea- but a hypothesis Carrie’s basically no weight. It is the starting point for a theory.
The overall objective odds favor neither answer, so guessing an answer and then standing on concrete surety that you are correct is simply and act of faith, nothing more. It takes the same faith to believe in god(s) without hard proof as it does to disbelieve. That can be an external faith in an ideal or group consensus, or an internal faith in self that we posses the judgment to make that call