Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
well - somebody has to do it, and Matt Dillahunty can't do everything. Besides- he's probably on the list.
But I was rather pleased that Darwin was the first, and also pleased that nettle was grasped that he attended church towards the end of his life (for whatever reason and how often, I don't know), though I must point out that Lady Hope Grant's claim that he recanted on his death bed (I don't recall exactly what he is supposed to have recanted) is false (category -pious fraud) and AiG has it on its' list of Arguments Creationists Should not use - in other words, the lie does them more harm than good.
But agnostic and perhaps even a believer in a sorta god, makes no difference to the validity of his work, or to the sea change it made to skeptical thought. Deism became obsolete overnight and Atheism was the best bet, because that was where the evidence pointed. The god who was no longer there became the god who was never there.
Darwin is rightly the No 1 on the list of notables in the atheist Hall of fame and an atheist Icon, and not only because he is such a hate -figure for Creationists.
I'm not sure whether there has been a similar thread before, or whether there is an episode 2, or something similar. But I'd invite some proposed lists by atheists.
Not please, by believers, who would have the top three as Stalin, Pol pot and Hitler. And Kim Jung Il, probably, if they can recall just who is N. Korea's present ruling atheist.
Ps. did he say started attending church or stopped? I recall that he actually gave up religion, rather to the dismay of his wife, who was a believer (as most people were). But in fact his doubts about religion were not because of evolution -theory, but through the problem of evil.
In fact, that is still the way of it today -evolution doesn't cause doubts about a god, but the problem of evil does.
Last edited by TRANSPONDER; 04-20-2017 at 12:47 PM..
I'll check out the video in a bit, but as far as 'atheist halls of fame' go, I'm pretty content with what they have going on in the hallways of Wikipedia:
Granted, there is no actual ranking by influence (or whatever criterion/a you favor). But the 'lists by surname' are much more extensive than they were the last time I checked, maybe a couple years back at this point
Edit to say that I'd never heard of Clark Adams until now (I can almost assure you that he wasn't included in this list when I last checked--Douglas Adams, yes; Clark Adams, no). He sounds like someone who would've somehow found his way to this message board had he not killed himself in 2007.
Yes. That's good. But I would fret if there was no room for Darwin or Galileo or Hypatia - even though they were (reverse order) Pagan, Christian and possible agnostic. Atheists respect them because of the work they did which contributed to a different view of the world from the biblical - which was of course, the booster for atheism. We don't know much of Hypatia's work (which is why the film "Agora" can suggest she worked out the Copernican system AND Kepler's ellipses before the fall of Constantinople), but her importance to atheism is that she is an Icon of science and learning - martyred by Christian fanatics. Yep, her statue (pretty and young, rather than the old dear she probably was) should go in the hall.
I'll check out the video in a bit, but as far as 'atheist halls of fame' go, I'm pretty content with what they have going on in the hallways of Wikipedia:
Granted, there is no actual ranking by influence (or whatever criterion/a you favor). But the 'lists by surname' are much more extensive than they were the last time I checked, maybe a couple years back at this point
Edit to say that I'd never heard of Clark Adams until now (I can almost assure you that he wasn't included in this list when I last checked--Douglas Adams, yes; Clark Adams, no). He sounds like someone who would've somehow found his way to this message board had he not killed himself in 2007.
Hmm, Wikipedia missed off Jim al-khalili. Quite a prominent one since he used to be President of the British Humanist association and is fairly vocal about it. He's very well known in the UK.
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) had a long and distinguished career in mathematics, metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy. He was also a political activist who spent several years in jail for his unpopular pacifist views.
But it is his insights into religion that I would like to address. His famous book "Why I am not a Christian" was written up from a series of lectures addressing numerous problems with the Christian faith. All of the traditional arguments advanced by Aquinas and Pascal; the arguments from Design, First Cause, etc were dealt with.
But Russell's most cogent argument against religion is, simply, that over the long haul it has done more harm than good. Russell frequently spoke of religion as superstition that has not helped the development of the human species.
"Religion is based, I think, primarily and mainly upon fear. It is partly the terror of the unknown and partly, as I have said, the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all of your troubles and disputes"
Russell, Why I am not a Christian
This book is highly recommended, and should be available in second hand bookstores. It will be noticed that it is written in slightly stilted Edwardian English, but is it nevertheless a paradigm change in philosophy. At the time this book was written, it was both daring and dangerous.
Excellent post. I nominate Bertrand Russell as one of the great minds of the early twentieth century.
Also, Sigmund Freud should be in there somewhere. See his book, Civilization and its Discontents.
Does Friedrich Nietzsche deserve to be on this list? I'm not sure. He ridiculed religion at every opportunity and termed Christianity the religion of slaves, but did not expressly deny theism.
This is TRANSPONDERS list. Forgive me for not mentioning that...
Gladly forgiven. Indeed thank you for giving the old thread resuscitation.
Yes; Russell was before his time. We had to wait for some decades before the likes of Dawkins and Dennett, Hawking and Hitchens came on the scene. There was Farrell Till of course, but he didn't grab the headlines like they did.
Of course O' Hair was before her time, too, and may have stirred up Ire with some of her views as Russell did with his pacifism - not as acceptable then as it is now. But O' Hair (too often spelt like the Chigago airport was named after her - it could still happen!) could be the subject of another entry to the Hall of Fame, since at the very least, she founded American Atheists.
Last edited by TRANSPONDER; 05-27-2017 at 09:13 PM..
Excellent post. I nominate Bertrand Russell as one of the great minds of the early twentieth century.
Also, Sigmund Freud should be in there somewhere. See his book, Civilization and its Discontents.
Does Friedrich Nietzsche deserve to be on this list? I'm not sure. He ridiculed religion at every opportunity and termed Christianity the religion of slaves, but did not expressly deny theism.
Yes, definitely on the list. If only because noted religious -skeptic composers (R.Strauss and Delius) were inspired by his wriitngs.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Atheist Hall of Fame; Bertrand Russell
