Are all Atheists skeptics?
December 31, 2010 by Herbals Medicines
Filed under conventional medicine
So you don’t believe in the existence of any sort of Deity. OK, but what else does this diagnostic sort of philosophy rule out.
Do you believe in “the power of positive thinking” stuff. The ability of the human mind to heal the body itself. That in addition to conventional medicine, the mind is capable of healing the body?
Do you believe in the “unconscious” mind at all? Or only that the brain uses chemistry to create impulses to force us to do whatever is required to perpetuate ourselves, food, sex, shelter etc.?
Does the label “Atheist” automatically translate as “skeptic”?
Hamlitcar, Taz,
I’m not saying that ALL Atheists are skeptics at all. Far from it. The fact is that of all of the skeptics I’ve seen in talks or debates most of them have also been skeptics. And I wondered if it was the same in general.
Seriously, I don’t ask questions with an ulterior motive in mind. I ask because I want to know. Not because I think that I already do and just want to make some sort of “point”. Not my thing.
Love Is God, thanks for your post, even I can understand it 
Very nicely written.
No, atheists’ only uniting factor is a lack of belief in any gods.
No it does not. i believe in the power of positive thinking and a lot of stuff like that but god(s) just don’t happen to be one of those things.
The Bard~
no most of us are rather open to evidence of the supernatural.
so long as the evidence is credible.
Stop adding meanings to the word atheist.
I know and/or think there is no God(S).
That’s it.
they seem to be skeptical of all beliefs except their own…
With a K? Certainly is in my case. But then, I have this thing about ‘evidence’.
Of course not…I’m a Christian, and I am very skeptical. I really have to test everything. I don’t go off what people tell me. I use logic as well as diligence
Does the label “Atheist” automatically translate as “skeptic”? not on all issues, no
I think that science has shown that we can think ourselves into wellness. We can’t necessarily cure ourselves, but we can prolong our lives, and ward off diseases/stress by simply thinking more positively.
i wouldnt go as far as to say skeptic. that a completely different term. but i would say that they believe that every explanation involves what they can see with their two eyes and refuse to think beyond that.
I’m skeptical, but it’s not because of my atheism.
No, however I am certainly one myself. All it means, after all, is to believe in what is reasonable to believe. Skeptics ask to be shown good reason to believe, and reserve their opinions in those matters that are in doubt.
I dream – evidence of a “subconcious” mind.
Laughter and crying have been scientifically proven to enhance the immune system – and there are coinciding chemical reactions that can be measured. Often, sadly, it isn’t enough. Sometimes it can surpass our current explanation.
The scientific method requires skepticism. You must test your theory – which means you must try to strain it till it fails. You may hope as optimitically as you wish, be as excited as you can when it doesn’t. But you must believe it can fail or you will not prove it doesn’t. And even then – you must know someone may come along and find a test that breaks it a little – and tweaks it – and gets it closer to unbreakable.
Think of the baby who drops his sippy cup over and over. Many people think he is trying to get attention. It’s hard to see the truth if he is just frustrating you. But if you have the patience to keep giving it back to him and watching what he is really doing, you will find that he is “discovering” the consistency of gravity. A little scientist, skeptical that the sippy cup will fall every time.
No, atheists are people who don’t believe in deities. Many Buddhists are atheists.
If you’re just taking a survey
* No, I don’t believe in that.
* You’ll have to elaborate on that one.
Atheists are unique individuals just like everybody else. They don’t believe in God but in most cases they do believe in a lot of things. Like people, love, happiness, “the moment.” It seems to me that if everything in your life only leads up to judgment once your life is over, that would be a pretty sad existence…not to mention devoid of anything that distinguishes you from everyone else who makes it into heaven (if, in the end, that’s really all that matters)
When you spend the better part of life attempting to sift through the lies and bulls**t to get at some semblance of truth, it’s difficult not to be skeptical.
That would go whether you’re an atheist or not.
If a skeptic is one that doesn’t believe unsubstantiated claims, then that definitely describes me. I would call myself a realist though.
> That in addition to conventional medicine, the mind is capable
> of healing the body?
The state of mind does have an effect, but it isn’t *magic*. The actual mechanisms for these effects have been studied by science. Stress and other hormones such as cortisol will, over time, damage your Cardiovascular system, raise your blood pressure, and affect your immune system.
>Do you believe in the “unconscious” mind at all? Or only that
> the brain uses chemistry to create impulses to force us to
> do whatever is required to perpetuate ourselves, food, sex,
> shelter etc.?
The mind and the brain are inseparable. Again it isn’t *magic*. Think of the mind as complex software running on the electro-biochemical hardware of the brain.
The brain makes decisions, just like AI and neural net software can make decisions in a computer. Is it just logic levels in the the hardware forcing the computer to do whatever is required? Or is it the higher level function in the software?
No, but a pretty good-sized fraction are. And it’s more effect than cause.
For example, I am an atheist because I am a skeptic, not the reverse.
No.
Example: A newborn baby is an atheist(implicit) because it lacks belief in god(s) simply because it hasn’t been introduced to that yet. It’s not skeptical, because it can’t doubt stuff as a newborn baby.
what does not believing in a god have to do with any of that? Stop trying to lump people into one box, we are all different, no matter what you believe in.