Description
Atheism For Dummies
Language: English
Keywords
atheism, atheistic, atheistic beliefs, atheism philosophy, faith, religion, what is atheism, what is an atheist, atheism history, atheism writing, atheism books, history of atheism, atheism quotes, atheism vs religion, atheism debate, books about atheism, types of atheism, atheism ethics, materialism, materialism vs spiritualism, living without faith
384 p. · 18.5x23.4 cm · Paperback
Description
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/li>Biography
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For people seeking a non-religious philosophy of life, as well as believers with atheist friends, Atheism For Dummies offers an intelligent exploration of the historical and moral case for atheism. Often wildly misunderstood, atheism is a secular approach to life based on the understanding that reality is an arrangement of physical matter, with no consideration of unverifiable spiritual forces.
Atheism For Dummies offers a brief history of atheist philosophy and its evolution, explores it as a historical and cultural movement, covers important historical writings on the subject, and discusses the nature of ethics and morality in the absence of religion.
- A simple, yet intelligent exploration of an often misunderstood philosophy
- Explores the differences between explicit and implicit atheism
- A comprehensive, readable, and thoroughly unbiased resource
As the number of atheists worldwide continues to grow, this book offers a broad understanding of the subject for those exploring atheism as an approach to living.
Introduction 1
Part I: Understanding What Atheism Is 7
Chapter 1: Meeting Atheism 9
Chapter 2: Unweaving the Rainbow of Disbelief 19
Chapter 3: Recognizing What Atheists Do and Don’t Believe — and Why 37
Part II: Following Atheism through the Ages 63
Chapter 4: Finding Atheism in the Ancient World 65
Chapter 5: Going Medieval 79
Chapter 6: Enlightening Strikes 91
Chapter 7: Opening a Golden Age of Freethought 107
Chapter 8: Growing Up in the Tumultuous 20th Century 121
Chapter 9: Voicing a New Atheism, and a New Humanism, for the 21st Century 145
Part III: Reading the Great Works of Atheism 169
Chapter 10: Uncovering Lost, Secret, Censored, and Forbidden Works 171
Chapter 11: Sampling Important Works: Deep Thoughts, Big Thinkers 183
Chapter 12: Laughing in Disbelief: Challenging the Divine with Humor 203
Chapter 13: Reawakening Passionate Disbelief: Key Works of the 21st Century 217
Part IV: Living a Full Life without Belief in God 233
Chapter 14: Getting Personal with Atheism Today 235
Chapter 15: Being Good with or without God 253
Chapter 16 : Seeing the World Naturally 275
Chapter 17: Being an Atheist in a Religious World 291
Chapter 18: Getting the Best of Religion and Leaving the Rest 311
Part V: The Part of Tens 327
Chapter 19: Ten Surprising Things about Atheists and Other Nonbelievers 329
Chapter 20: Ten (Plus One) Famous People You May Not Know are Nonbelievers 335
Chapter 21: Ten Fun and Easy Ways to Explore Atheism 343
Index 351
The growing number of atheists worldwide (an estimated half billion people), as well as readers who want to gain a stronger understanding and insight into this misunderstood belief system. A secondary audience includes university students seeking complementary reading material on the topic.
Dale McGowan, PhD, writes the popular secular blog The Meming of Life, teaches secular parenting workshops across North America, and is executive director of Foundation Beyond Belief, a humanist charitable organization. He has been interviewed in major publications, such as Newsweek and the New York Times, and was 2008 Harvard Humanist of the Year.
