Reddit reviews The Great Agnostic: Robert Ingersoll and American Freethought

> The most common definition of atheism found on reddit is that atheism is either a disbelief or a lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.

> But is this definition universal? Would atheists from non-Western backgrounds, esp. those atheists not exposed to New Atheist writers, define atheism similarly?

This definition of atheism is older than reddit, which was founded in 2005, and it is older than the New Atheism movement, which began with the publication of The End of Faith by Sam Harris in 2004. It can be found on the web at least as early as 1997 in an article called An Introduction to Atheism. There, a lack of belief in God is called weak atheism, and disbelief in God is called strong atheism. I can't find an earlier copy on Archive.org than 2006, but I did read it myself in the 1990's. These senses of atheism may be much older. Atheism was defended at length in Superstition in All Ages, written during the 1700's by Jean Meslier or Baron Holbach, and in An Apology for Atheism by Charles Southwell (1814-1860). These works focus mainly on criticism of religion, which indicates an understanding of atheism in the weak sense. For weak atheism, the burden of proof is on religion. The weak atheist lacks religious beliefs, because he is unconvinced by the claims of religion. Strong atheism goes further, claiming that God positively does not exist. Some atheists do argue for this, but many do not go this far. Robert Green Ingersoll, a vocal critic of religion during the late 19th century, was known as the The Great Agnostic. He was probably a weak atheist, focusing more on criticizing religion than on arguing against the existence of God. The following quotation was typical of the things he would say:

> The notion that faith in Christ is to be rewarded by an eternity of bliss, while a dependence upon reason, observation and experience merits everlasting pain, is too absurd for refutation, and can be believed* only by that unhappy mixture of insanity and ignorance, called "faith."

This notion of atheism may be more of a western idea, because it refers to a western idea of God, mainly the one associated with Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Eastern philosophy tends to favor pantheism (Hinduism) or naturalism (Taoism). Buddhism is more empirical, skirting the issue of whether there are any gods. The common idea in eastern philosophy is nondualism. In contrast, the Abrahamic religions posit a dualist God, one that is separate from creation. There are various deities in Hindu and Taoist mythologies, but they are regarded as beings within the world, or as symbols of a higher reality, not as supernatural beings. In The God Delusion, Dawkins focuses on the idea of God as a supernatural being. Followers of eastern philosophy would be atheists under this idea of God, though they might not use the word to refer to themselves without a cultural context where God is understood to be a supernatural being.

• One source says "relieved," which I assume is a typo. Another does say "believed."

I had not heard of Rebecca Goldstein, but I read Susan Jacoby's book on Robert Ingersoll when it came out and it was quite good.

I love Robert Ingersoll. Susan Jacoby has some great books, one of them is called The Great Agnostic, which is a biography. It's great, I highly recommend it!

While we are on the subject, my nom de plume originated from Jacoby's Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism, which is also an excellent book.