The Amorality of Atheism (Amazon USA) (Amazon UK) by Giorgio Roversi, an Italian author living in Britain, is a slim book that says everything that needs to be said.
Atheism is full of illogicalities both from an ethical and scientific viewpoint.
This book deals with the ethical aspect of atheism's self-contradictions, and it does it brilliantly.
The only consistency of atheist "morality" or rather of atheism in general is with the requirements of a society that simply wants to follow its own wishes and urges without any constraints.
But this is also a society which was founded on Christianity, therefore the remnants of the ethical system that has dominated it for almost two millennia still echo in the hollow chamber of even the most entrenched atheists.
And here is the origin of another contradiction: modern secularists want their cake and eat it. They don't want an external source of their morality so they can forge it the way they like it, but at the same time they want to feel to be self-righteous and doing "the right thing". So they claim that those qualities and acts that we consider good only in virtue of their adherence to the Christian values can find their grounds on something else. But what?
The options offered are all wanting.
Science. One of the most irrational claims of many atheists is that science can guide morality. Hume's principle is here an invincible obstacle: you cannot derive "ought" from "is".
Subjectivity. But that, as Roversi says, is the opposite of morality, which must by its own very nature be universal and therefore objective.
"Nice, good" feelings, like empathy and compassion. But we also have nasty, bad feelings, destructive and harmful to others. If we are only a conglomerate of atoms and cells bent solely towards survival and self-interest, on what rational - not emotional - grounds can we choose which are better between those two competing groups of feelings?
This book should be read by everyone because the subject it deals with concerns all of us in the most fundamental and vital way. A society cannot survive without ethics and, therefore, without God.
The West is trying on itself an experiment that is bound to fail and is already failing, as we can see, for example, from the devastation of the family, the race towards primitivism, the erosion of civilisation and all their consequences, like multiculturalism, destructive immigration and the growing power of Islam.
Giorgio Roversi's The Amorality of Atheism is the antidote to the poisonous misconceptions and deceptions spread by Hollywood, the mass media and the elites (political and intellectual) every minute of every day.
This book is very highly recommended.
Enza: I beg to differ, in a manner of speaking, with your appraisal of this book, which I have not read as I have only just learned of it. Taking some of your points one by one:
ReplyDelete“A society cannot survive without ethics and, therefore, without God.” True, a society cannot survive without ethics, but I think it can survive without God or any other deity, once its thinkers can formulate a rational, man-based ethics. This is why I subscribe to the ethics of Objectivism, formulated by that renowned atheist and champion of individual rights and liberty, Ayn Rand.
“But this is also a society which was founded on Christianity, therefore the remnants of the ethical system that has dominated it for almost two millennia still echo in the hollow chamber of even the most entrenched atheists.” Yes, Christianity has dominated Western society and civilization for almost two millennia, and look at the mess it’s made. The most ostensibly “atheistic” and most evil and destructive political systems of the 20th century, Nazism and Communism, were founded on the same altruistic premises that have driven all Christian sects, from Catholicism to any branch of Protestantism you care to name. Nazism and Communism preached selflessness as ardently as have any of those sects.
“Science. One of the most irrational claims of many atheists is that science can guide morality. Hume's principle is here an invincible obstacle: you cannot derive ‘ought’ from ‘is’". David Hume, who gave skepticism respectability, was a “pen pal” of the chief destroyer of Western civilization, Immanuel Kant. Kant preached that not only could man now know reality, but that man should be selfless on principle. You can see his categorical imperative to “do the right thing” especially if you have no interest in the outcome in operation in Europe now, led by Angela Merkel, who more or less claimed it was her “moral” duty to open the borders to the barbarian hordes of Muslims. Name me a few atheists who claim that an ethics can be founded on science. The only “science” I know of that can do that acknowledges the volitional nature of man and that he must think if he is to survive and live, and that a rational ethics can be built on acknowledging that nature, without the necessity of an “external source.”. See my column at Rule of Reason. http://ruleofreason.blogspot.com/
Hume, by the way, obviously rejected Aristotle’s statement that art was more important than history, because while history recorded what “is,” art prescribes the “ought.” That’s why I’m a novelist.
A correction to my original post, I blame a slip of the finger on the keyboard. It ought to have read "...Kant preached that not only could man not know reality..."
ReplyDeleteA friend who has read Enza's review here asked me to post her comments: "Would Enza care to explain to us how we acquire this allegedly superior "ethical system" from "God"? How does this "external source" convey "His" moral code to us? Words thundered out of the sky to cowering primitive nomadic tribes? Sets of rules carved on stone plaques brought down from mountaintops by mythical "patriarchs" who never existed? Prayer? Mystical revelations received in trance states? "Teachings" of mythical god-men invented by cultists to popularize the mystical revelations of their cult's founders? Gibberish screamed by caravan-raiding warlords who have learned that the "sword" is the most efficient way to impose their god's "will" on others? All demonstrably superior to anything atheist thinkers can come up with, to be sure."
ReplyDeleteDoes it matter where the moral code comes from? Surely it's the content that is important. Whether it's from God via Christianity, Islam, etc, or from the United Nations or politicians should be less important than the message we're asked to take on board and live our lives by.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a Christian but the message the religion preaches, in my opinion, is superior to those of any other religion or non-theist state such as the USSR. Perfect? Not really but I think the fact that the most desirable countries to live in are Christian tells a story.
Atheism is marxist, communist international antichrist judaism.
ReplyDeleteI Enjoy your Blog Enza.
ReplyDelete@Edward Line
"once its thinkers can formulate a rational, man-based ethics."
Rationality cannot be grounded on a belief that human reasoning came about unintentionally, in fact, materialistic evolution annihilates the mind in the first place.
"Yes, Christianity has dominated Western society and civilization for almost two millennia, and look at the mess it’s made."
Christianity hasn't made a mess, England has been going down the pan since it became less Christian.
"The most ostensibly “atheistic” and most evil and destructive political systems of the 20th century, Nazism and Communism, were founded on the same altruistic premises that have driven all Christian sects, from Catholicism to any branch of Protestantism you care to name"
Christianity is not to blame for the crimes of Godless Communists, The communists rejected God and the teaching of Human worth.
“Darwin put an end to the belief that the animal and vegetable species bear no relation to one another, except by chance, and that they were created by God, and hence immutable.”
- Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
“The Party cannot be neutral towards religion, and it conducts anti-religious propaganda against all religious prejudices because it stands for science, whereas religious prejudices run counter to science, because all religion is the antithesis of science. Cases such as occur in America, where Darwinists were prosecuted recently, cannot occur here because the Party pursues a policy of defending science in every way.”
- Josef Stalin, J.V. Stalin Complete Works Volume 10, p. 138
"A friend who has read Enza's review here asked me to post her comments"
She shouldn't have bothered, there is no content in her post just sophomoric rhetoric.
"and that a rational ethics can be built on acknowledging that nature, without the necessity of an “external source.”.
Rationality cannot be built on the idea of dumb chance for how human reasoning came about. It also cannot ground the laws of logic that are necessary for human reasoning.
Nihilism is consistent with your position but not rationality.
"See my column at Rule of Reason. http://ruleofreason.blogspot.com/"
Reason cannot be built on a position that the human reasoning is the product of chance. You need to change the name of your blog
An interesting quote from Hume. I'd not seen it before.
ReplyDeleteI think it is less a matter of the growing power of Islam than the increasing feminization, moral confusion, political and historical ignorance, and abject, mewling cowardice on the part of the West. 98% the latter.
I could end ALL illegal entry on the border of any Western country in 72 hours because I have the will and the determination that would make it happen. No Western law prohibits the use of lethal force in defense of the borders. No illegal would die other than by his own choice after I'd issued appropriate warnings. The great inward flow of third-world primitives into my country would stop instantly and as quickly reverse itself. It's not difficult.
Muslims only get away with what the cowardice of Western leaders encourages.