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A void you don't notice is a void you don't have. I have never noticed a void either.
I find that attempting to understand the workings of the universe gives me great satisfaction. All life on this planet, including human life, is composed of the same protons, neutrons and electrons that the distant stars are composed of. The more complex elements in our body were created by exploding stars. In a very real way, we humans are the universe contemplating itself. That's as much philosophy as I have ever needed.
zortation... By "void" are you suggesting there is a gap of time and purpose that Theists fill with their religious beliefs, activities, church attendance, etc., but Atheists have this space and time blank?
Or is it some common void shared by both Atheists and people of faith?
Removing a splinter from your thumb does not generate a void which requires filling with an alternate sensation.
Pretty much. The world slowly became more wonderful to me as I gradually dropped the limiting and sometimes toxic strictures I was raised with.
I’m not much interested in formal philosophy, but there are many inspiring writers out there, both nonfiction and fiction. I don’t feel a void in my life, but rather a superabundance of interesting things I won’t live long enough to explore.
I'd recommend Bertrand Russell. Gorgeous prose, huge sense of humor. He wrote over 60 books and 1,000+ articles, but my favorites include:
Understanding History
Skeptical Essays
Why I Am Not a Christian
History of Western Philosophy
Marriage and Morals
In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays
What I Believe
The Conquest of Happiness
Mysticism and Logic
On Education
An Outline of Philosophy
The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins
Letter to a Christian Nation, Sam Harris
The End of Faith, Sam Harris
God is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens
The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan
The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture, Darrel Ray
That should keep you busy for a while.
Last edited by KaraZetterberg153; 09-25-2018 at 07:22 PM..
I'm agnostic. I spent the first 18 years of my life being indoctrinated by Jehovah's witnesses. I was filled to the brim with crap and I have no void. I enjoy many of the discussions on C-D concerning atheism and agnosticism. I offer incite when given the opportunity. My wife (atheist) and I have many great discussions about postings. Continue to monitor this thread and add your input. You'll find many different points of view. Listen, learn, and read on!
On the issue of a void, the void I feel sometimes is aesthetic. I feel bereft and hollow without beautiful language, beautiful music, art, poetry.
Sometimes I tend towards Buddhism, but while it's alright, in theory, it is, like everything else human contrived, associated with humans and thus flawed. You only have to visit an ashram or temple and you see humans, doing what humans do--screwing everything up. It's impossible to rectify.
But read Walt Whitman, "Leaves of Grass." That's the bible for the new century, assuming we survive this one.
I'm agnostic. I spent the first 18 years of my life being indoctrinated by Jehovah's witnesses. I was filled to the brim with crap and I have no void. I enjoy many of the discussions on C-D concerning atheism and agnosticism. I offer incite when given the opportunity. My wife (atheist) and I have many great discussions about postings. Continue to monitor this thread and add your input. You'll find many different points of view. Listen, learn, and read on!
I think it's very cool and very brave that you (and your wife?) left the JWs and struck out on your own like that. My grandmother had dozens of those books at her house and I used to read them when I was there for lack of anything else to read. Mother was into it, too. They struck me as made up fairy stories but you know, it was something to read.
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