A new definition of "atheism": Is it "The explanation for everything without reference to the supernatural"?

Question

please don't just no, say why not...

ok, how about...

"The explanation for everything without reference to a Diety"?

No atheist claims he can explain everything, yet he doesn't evoke "God" to fill in the gaps.

Answer 1

I actually find that pretty accurate, hey go check out my question.

Answer 2

No. Not everything has an explanation. Science does not have all the answers and may never have all the answers. But this does not imply that gods are necessary.

One could argue that the central idea of the Enlightenment is that supernatural explanations are not helpful or necessary. But that's a different proposition.

Answer 3

That's been done, and it's still a BAD definition of atheism.

Fact is, "atheism" derives from Greek ἄθεος which means "godless".

The only qualifying attribute of an atheist is that he is without (belief in a) god.

Most prominently, a Bhuddist can follow "atheism" in its correct definition. Nirvana is not a god, reincarnation is not a god, neither requires a god, but both of them are quite supernatural.

Answer 4

To me Atheists are just people with low self-esteem, because they don't believe in themselves.
Anything you can't explain is supernatural from your viewpoint just like any flying object you can't identify is a UFO from your perspective.
“Belief is the death of intelligence. As soon as one believes a doctrine of any sort, or assumes certitude, one stops thinking about that aspect of existence.”
-- Robert Anton Wilson
In pursuit of understanding ALL avenues should be explored. Ruling some explanation out because it doesn't fit in your little reality tunnel is counter productive. Indigenous people around the world either had cures for or never came down with some diseases but when Western Imperialist and their missionaries came they burned stole or suppressed the traditions that contained those cures or preventive measures. It wasn't until the late twentieth century that western scientists realized the Hindu and Buddhist mystics understood quantum physics centuries or even millennium ago.
Religion and science together ever searching for answers is our only real hope.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

I don't know why it needs a new definition. The lack of belief in gods is quite accurate and I have yet to meet an Atheist who claims that they can explain everything.

Answer 7

I'm not an atheist and I don't even like that definition.
Atheist means not believing in god or gods
Supernatural is just things beyond normal nature does not mean they can not be explaind in time.

Ghost can be considered supernatural but I think one day they will be explained with good scientific proof.

I'm not saying they are real but there are things taht we do not understand yet so it is supernatural

Answer 8

Maybe we could dub that empiricism instead.

Some atheists believe in the supernatural (not myself), and the only commonality is that we lack belief in gods.

Perhaps if we called it scientific atheism or empirical atheism, it would better fit what you wrote.

Cheers!

Answer 9

That's Naturalism. Some Atheists (forinstance, Buddhists) believe things some would consider "supernatural".

Answer 10

There's no imperative that an atheist cannot be spiritual or even believe in the supernatural. The moniker only implies that she doesn't believe in gods, particularly the mainstream anthropomorphic gods. That's all.

Answer 11

I like it! But of course, it's not a complete definition. Atheism is so much more than just that; atheism is a defender of free thought. Atheism is a defender of the young and innocent from those who seek to enslave them with primitive fear based doctrines of nonsense. Atheism is the only hope that humanity has of ever progressing out of this present stage of mass deception, strife and delusion.