Respectful Atheism: A Perspective on Belief in God and Each Other

by Thomas B. Sheridan

Overview

This is a study of God as a concept, not from the perspective of any religious tradition, but rather as belief in an all-powerful, all-knowing and loving supernatural entity as has prevailed through the ages. The book reviews arguments throughout history for and against the idea of such a God. One unique perspective is to ask what can be modeled about God in denotative language of rationality (much as modeling in science, medicine and economics) in contrast to connotative language (e.g., myth, metaphor, art and music).

Since the early Greeks there have been skeptics concerning God, with progressively more questioning since the Enlightenment. Today’s “new atheists” are seen as being even more assertive, and as having little respect for religious and philosophical traditions and the natural longing for some kind of supreme being. However, as demographic trends continue to diminish the influence of the church, there is opportunity for atheism to gain respect by respecting the beliefs of others. The book ends with some considerations of what it means to respect others’ beliefs and cultural traditions without abandoning a sincere disbelief in a supernatural being.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633886605
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	03/23/2021
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Thomas B Sheridan is currently Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics MIT.

He was co-editor of the MIT Press journal Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments and served on several editorial boards; and was editor of IEEE Transactions on Man-Machine Systems.

Sheridan chaired the National Research Council’s Committee on Human Factors, and has served on numerous government and industrial advisory committees. He is principal of Thomas B. Sheridan and Associates, a consulting firm. He was President of HFES, and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xi

Part I History of Belief 1

1 Origins of Belief 3

2 Traditional "Proofs" of God 21

3 More Recent Theistic Arguments 27

Part II Knowledge, Science, and Modeling 37

4 Acquiring Knowledge 39

5 Modeling, a Criterion of Knowing 53

6 Can God or Religion Be Modeled? 63

Part III Belief Today 71

7 Variety of Belief Perspectives 73

8 Demographics and Trends 79

9 Is Creationism Dead? 85

10 The New Atheism 87

11 The Big Bang, the Multiverse, and a New Discontinuity in Our Perceived Importance 95

12 Apprehending Reality 103

13 Metaphor, Myth, and Religious Language 111

14 Spirituality 119

15 Opposing Perspectives That Seem to Converge 123

16 Questions about Churchgoers 131

17 Redefining God, God by Other Names 139

Part IV Respecting Others 143

18 Respecting Others' Beliefs versus Respecting Others' Humanity 145

19 Compassion 149

20 Moral Virtues 151

21 Reverence 155

22 Trust 159

23 Ignorance and Innovation 165

24 The Delicate Trade-offs in "Loving One's Neighbor as Oneself 167

Conclusion 169

Notes 173

Bibliography 187

Index 191

About the Author 195

Editorial Reviews

"The two parts of the title are much needed in today's discourse on faith and reason - an uncompromising analysis of what does and does not exist in the universe, and a respectful appreciation of people's diverse beliefs and of the wisdom that may be found in our civilization's traditions and literatures. Thomas Sheridan's readable book satisfies these needs gracefully and engagingly."
Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and the author of Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

From the Publisher