Is atheism a form of mental illness?

Question

I have heard many atheists say that there is no proof of God. Then they say that there is no way to disprove that there is a God. How then can a person say with absolute certainty the there is no God? How can any assertion be logically sound without proof to back it up, especially from folks who say they require proof yet then admit they have no proof? Is not the universe itself proof enough? In what other context do you assume that there is an effect without cause?

This is an inquiry into why so many people calling themselves atheist behave so irrationally in this forum. I have reviewed hundreds of questions from professed atheists and am inclined to believe that many here are not well.

I was attempting two things in asking this question. First to get logical and rational answers from atheists hence showing that my observation is not complete and that there are sane atheists out there. Second, in the formulation of the question I attempt to personally understand an atheist perspective or logic. In doing so, I was hoping for a reasonable correction.

Answer 1

I dont say anything with absolute certainty. I just say I don't believe in things without credible evidence. Atheism is defined as lack of god belief. When you have credible evidence of gods, present it.

I believe there is a reason for existence. But I believe that reason is Mathematics not gods.

I believe Causality and Time are in some sense illusions resulting from consciousness (observing systems) extremizing Fisher Information within a neo-platonic version of the "Many Minds" interpretation of Quantum Mechanics.

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0704/0704.0646v1.pdf

http://www.optics.arizona.edu/Frieden/fisher_information.htm

However I would never argue that "Existence is proof of my beliefs", that would be arrogant and absurd without being able to prove all other explainations are impossible. The Christians who make these absurd claims have never even heard of other explainations let alone be able to prove them false. Most of them do not even know what a proof is.

Answer 2

I would say atheism is no more a mental illness than a belief in God is a mental illness. They simply believe in something different than you do, that is, they believe in the idea that there is no god, while you believe in the idea that there is a god. Religious people talk with absolute certainty in the same way that atheists talk with certainty.

I lost my faith in God, I dont' think there is one, I think there are a lot of people like me. And it is quite clear how religious folk try to cram their beliefs down the gullets of others once you are not one of them. So I just never say anything, and no one has happened to ask me. Interestingly, I lost my faith DUE to mental illness and the severe suffering it causes me (and some other things, but mainly that).

I just thot this was a more middle of the ground kind of take on your question. I know a LOT aobut mental illness, and atheism has nothing to do wiht it.

Answer 3

No.

Symptomatically theism is characteristic of mental illness. Believing invisible beings exist and that you can talk to them and that they talk to you, and that they make things happen when you ask them are all symptomatic of schizophrenia.

The issue on proof is simply that it is logically impossible to disprove the existence of invisible, imaginary beings. But this does not mean they exist. It is equally logically impossible to prove there is not an invisible teapot orbiting the moon. Yet you would not believe that.

Looking at the universe actually proves quite the reverse than that god exists. We have a science base now that explains almost all of what you see rationally and without any need for invisible beings.

Answer 4

Can you prove that Ahuramazda, Allah, Amon, Baal, Brahma, Zeus or other gods do not exist? How can you say with absolute certainty that they do not exist and that your deity is the only one? The Bible is proof that its god does not exist. It has many contradictions and pathetic ignorance of science and the real world. A deity who created the universe could not be so ignorant of it. The early parts of the Bible were written by shepherds, and it is easy to see they were quite ignorant. You are violarting Bible rules here. Your defamatory statement bears false witness, violates the Golden Rule, ignores the verse about not judging and how about love they neighbor? Some of your neighbors have different beliefs. If anyone is mentally ill, you are a better candidate than I am.

Answer 5

Nothing is absolutely certain, but atheists typically believe in science and reason, neither of which indicate that a higher power is necessary for the formation of the universe.

Ahteists do not need proof, as the burden of proof is not theirs in the first place. Everyone agrees that the universe exists, only theists believe a higher power created it.

You employ sad and circular reasoning. The "cause" which you say atheists ignore is actually billions of years of evolution.

Answer 6

1. Atheism is not the positive belief in the absence of gods, it's the absence of belief in gods. There's a difference.
2. The word 'proof' is absolutely meaningless without a standard of proof.
3. There is plenty of hard evidence that your god doesn't exist.
4. If 'the universe' is proof, surely it would prove every conceivable myth about how the universe was created, not just yours. That's just stupid.
5. Atheism in no way implies an effect without a cause.

Answer 7

Do you have to see proof that it is time to take a dump or do you pay attention to familiar signs that tell you "I gotta crap". Go back to elementary school and learn what science actually requires as a basis for acceptance--not absolute proof--if we had to wait on that we'd still be waiting for proof of such things as "proof that electricity exists", etc.

There has not been to date any evidence to support the existance of God, Satan, faeries, pixies, etc. No assertion is logically sound without peer-reviewed evidence to back it up--that is the golden standard of science. Absolutes are the stuff of religion--they are standards which are accepted without question--not very scientific--or useful for that matter!

We don't accept that there is effect without cause--hence the ridiculous assumption that God "always was"--what caused him? Science does not attempt to disprove anything--it simply refuses to accept, as a basis for anything, something which is irrelevant due to it's apparent lack of having any impact on the physical universe (e.g. "God").

Answer 8

You have put up a straw man argument. Atheists do not say that there is absolute certainty that there is no God.

Rather, they say they lack a belief in any deities because there's insufficient evidence of such an assertion. I also don't believe in leprechauns, fairies, sasquatch, the Loch Ness monster, ghosts, or the cobbler's elves. Does this indicate I'm mentally ill or that I show good skeptical judgment?

It's quite an extraordinary claim to say that there is a supernatural world that interacts with this one, and to suggest that we are somehow mentally ill when we require some proof of the assertion is to put a unique definition on mental illness.

^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^

Answer 9

Atheism, much like theism, is an effort to confront and deal with the myriad unanswerable questions that we encounter in our lives.

The atheist leaves God out of the equation, and tends to rely upon observable phenomena for explanations and resolutions of the unanswerable questions.

The theist is more inclined to rely upon a "supreme being" for resolutions

Both groups of people, encountering as they do, questions for which there is no ready answer, are subject to anxiety. The mind and body do not do well while anxiety is present, so there is a drive to reduce anxiety.

Theism and atheism are just two methods used to reduce anxiety.

Answer 10

OK - You want a rational answer from an atheist rather than some kind of fight. I consider myself rational; I am not suffering from any kind of mental illness to the best of my knowledge and I argue that my point of view is just as valid as yours or anyone else's. Read my piece on "Understanding the Psychology of Atheism" for a more detailed view of where I am coming from
http://www.helium.com/tm/533390/writing-heading-reasons-principally