Bible Students

Atheistic Naturalism Worldview Overview

Part I

(1) What is Prime Reality?

Prime reality is what can be observed. The material (natural) world is all there ever was, is, and will be, and there are no other (supernatural) forces. There is no God, since there is no need for God. There is a natural material universe which was brought about by natural causes. 

(2) What is the nature of external reality?

The universe exists, and is interpreted by humanity. The universe is all there ever was and ever will be, until it’s eventual heat death. External reality (outside ourselves) and prime reality (the base of everything) are the same. There is only what there is, which is the material universe or universes. 

(3) What is a human being?

A human being is a product of natural evolution. Humanity is neither greater nor lesser than any other animal. It is the most evolved in terms of cognitive and social abilities, but is not more actually valuable than anything else. A human is comprised only of material parts and has no spiritual counterparts. On the topic of abortion, Dawkins writes, “And, whatever an embryo may or may not feel, it is beyond doubt that an adult pig or cow has a hugely greater capacity to feel pain and dread when led to the slaughter. If you both eat meat and simultaneously object to abortion on the grounds that the embryo might feel pain, you are a hypocrite—or else you just haven’t thought it through.”

(4) What happens to a person at death?

A human consciousness is ended, similarly to non-REM sleep. The person ceases to exist, forever. There is no reincarnation and no afterlife, for there are no spiritual strings to tie a “soul” to those places. Unlike theologians, who constantly make things up, scientists can show intellectual honestly by admitting there is nothing after death. In a way, death is similar to the Buddhist idea of Nirvana. When you die, you become one with the universe on a molecular scale, though really you were never apart from it. 

(5) Why is it possible to know anything at all?

At the basic level, it isn’t possible to know anything. As an integrated and consistent naturalist would agree, you cannot be 100% certain of anything. Our interpretation of reality is a result of evolution, which does not favor true interpretation of reality, but rather useful interpretation. The only thing we can truly know is that we exist, for to think is to exist. Other than that, we can know nothing. Our own thinking systems may be deceived by evolution. It is probable, though, that our interpretation of reality is mostly true. Truth is often useful and therefore favored by cognitive evolution, and the uniform experience of humanity produces the same interpretations for countless things. 

We can, though, make educated guesses about what is true. These hypotheses are based on evidences that present themselves persuasively. On the nature of knowing what is true, Dawkins writes, “Next time somebody tells you something that sounds important, think to yourself: ‘Is this the kind of thing that people probably know because of evidence?  Or is it the kind of thing that people only believe because of tradition, authority or revelation?’”. 

(6) How do we know what is right and wrong?

A consistent naturalist does not know right and wrong. There is no objective moral standard. You cannot take what ought to be from what is. There is only what there is. There is no ought. Morality cannot even be based on the survival of humanity as being the ultimate ethic, since one cannot say the human race ought to live on. There is no ought from only what is. 

(7) What is the meaning of human history?

Nothing. History is likely linear, as makes the most sense logically (though, our logical senses may fail), and likely is not eternal. However, deriving meaning from objective reality is not possible. There is no ought in what is. Human history, then, is only what has happened to occur. There is no meaning in the past, except for what we make of it. We can make purpose in our lives, for the sake of living, but at its core, our lives are without meaning. 

(8) What personal commitments are consistent with this worldview?

Nothing. Consistent atheistic naturalism leads to Nihilism. There is no meaning, there is only what is. There is no ought. A consistent naturalist doesn’t even have the ability to say they ought to do nothing, since everything is meaningless. Even that is inconsistent, since you cannot derive what ought to be from what is.

Part II

(1) Discuss whether or not this worldview is coherent and corresponds to the world in which we live. You may defend this worldview if you so choose, but be sure to adequately support your position.

It is internally coherent, but does not respond to miracles. I do believe miracles happen. There are accounts from across the world of supernatural things, especially medically “impossible” events. Many of these events could be swept away by noting the human desire to see these miracles (thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy), but certainly not all of them. There are too many accounts of people witnessing miracles, enough to change their entire lives (and in many cases, die for them, especially in the case of Jesus’ disciples). Because of this anti-supernatural bias, I cannot say this worldview corresponds to the world in which we live, which almost certainly involves the supernatural. 

(2) Contrast this worldview with the Christian worldview on the two points that you believe are the most important.

Worldview questions one and four (what is prime reality and what happens to a person after death). In atheistic naturalism, prime reality is the universe, while in Christianity prime reality is God. This is a clear and important difference, since many things are derived from it. There is no morality with the universe as prime reality, while morality exists with God as prime reality. There is also no meaning in a simply natural universe, while there is immense meaning in a theistic universe. 

Also, what happens after death is of extreme (possibly most practical) importance to someone with a theistic universe. After death, either heaven or hell await each person, and most people who subscribe to a theistic worldview spend their lives trying to spend eternity in heaven. If there is a heaven, it has to be one of the the most practical and pressing rifts between the atheistic naturalist’s and theist’s worldviews.

Bibliography
Dawkins, Richard. “Good and Bad Reasons for Believing.” Richard Dawkins , 1995,
https://richarddawkins.com/articles/article/good-and-bad-reasons-for-believing.

Dawkins, Richard. “The Intellectual and Moral Courage of Atheism.” Richard Dawkins ,
2007,https://richarddawkins.com/articles/article/the-intellectual-and-moral-courage-of-
atheism.

Dawkins, Richard. “They Think it’s Murder.” Richard Dawkins ,
https://richarddawkins.com/articles/article/they-think-its-murder.