Is the atheist belief structure based on probabilities or proofs?

Answer 1

April, I'm an atheist, and I'm not sure why so many people say "I don't have a belief structure..."

I have a belief structure, it just does not include a god. My beliefs, are indeed, based on proofs and probabilities.

I have probabilities and geological evidence of the age of the earth, probabilities and proofs of the nature of the universe, and all of these probabilities and "proof" are what I form my beliefs from.

Answer 2

I can only speak for myself. There is no strict atheist belief structure that I know of. Probabilities and proof really only come into play when I am defending my rights. On a personal level, it's more about practicality; living a simple, honest life and enjoying being a human along the way.

Answer 3

We humans live our lives based on probabilities. Only logic and math are based on "proofs."

When you and your spouse go to sleep & you expect him or her to awake in the morning, you have a very high probability of being correct. And all during your lives, you will be right ... until one day you are not. Almost every McDonald's hamburger is safe and clean, except for the very few with roach droppings in them.

Safety, planning, schooling, etc. are all based on playing the percentages. The truth is MOST of the time we choose to follow those percentages that are convincingly likely to occur.

However, sometimes we lose all perspective on what's most evidently likely, and turn instead to superstition. And one element society most loses perspective on is religion.

The likelihood that some god that intervenes in natural laws exists is so infinitesimally small that it is, without doubt, one of the least probable descriptors of the universe. If God interfered with the universe, all science would be meaningless, but instead science has over and again proved or disproved hypotheses and expanded our understanding and the predictability of our universe.

So although atheists base our beliefs on probabilities, I assert that beliefs are based on two things: probabilities and superstitions. And in the weighing of probabilities, the atheists have by far the greater weight of evidence on their side.

Answer 4

Technically speaking, all proof is based on probability. When you "prove" a contention you simply establish it as the most probable conclusion.

Even the "unbending" laws of physics are ultimately based on probability. E.g. the 2nd law states: all matter tends towards entropy in a closed system. This basically means it is utterly improbable that the entropy of matter would decrease in a closed system.

The so called "belief" in Science is based solely on probability, not "proof". While the belief in Creation is based solely on faith, not probability.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

The atheist belief structure is supported by well evidenced high probabilities and a system of supporting proofs. Theism is supported by poor evidence and weak proofs, counterbalanced by extreme belief.

Agnosticism has neither, it is simply obvious that we don't really KNOW if God does or does not exist. None of us has searched the whole universe. He might be hiding somewhere......

Answer 6

It's not a belief structure, it's the lack of a belief structure, based on lack of proof or probability for religious beliefs.

Answer 7

There's no such thing as an "atheist belief structure."

But since Xians have made it impossible to disprove god, I'd have to say most of us go with the unlikely probability of it. Also probable is the lack of proof FOR it.

Answer 8

Ultimately, it's both.

You cannot prove a negative. However, there can be (1) a lack of proof of a given assertion and (2) proof that the assertion is improbable.

(1)No proof has ever been offered on the god hypothesis. (2)All known facts make the probability of the truth of the god hypothesis so unlikely as to be not worth considering.

Answer 9

Logic deals in proofs only as an abstract idea. When applied to the real world, it can only provide us with probabilities. As such, any true freethinker must not believe in any such thing as a true proof in the real world, and must base their beliefs on probabilities. And no, this system is not as fragile as it sounds- although, even if it was, it's the only valid system anyway so that doesn't really matter.

Answer 10

Atheists dont have beliefs. They just lack belief in supernatural gods.

Its impossible to prove the non-existence of anything. For instance you can't prove that I didnt have a chat with the Orbiting Celestial Teapot this morning. Its likely that you would be very sceptical though. In fact I suppose that you would be almost certain that it hadnt actually happened (unless you are very gullible).

Similarly I am 99.99999 recurring % certain that supernatural gods don't exist............... but I could always be wrong.