What Do Atheists Want?
That question may not be as straightforward as it seems. I could rephrase it like this: do atheists seek a world without God-believers full stop or a world of rationalists? (I don't mean rationalists as opposed to empiricists, but those who govern themselves by reason, which includes sensory evidence). Alas, mere nonbelief and rationalism don't necessarily go hand in hand. Irrational atheists are not impossible. Online celebrity atheists, who fancy themselves skeptics, claim the title negative atheists , by which they mean that with regard to God (as supernatural creator of the universe), they merely lack belief for want of convincing evidence. Their aim is to distinguish themselves from positive atheists , who are convinced that no God exists. Negative atheists insist that their form of atheism need entail no other beliefs about anything. It's a mere lack of a particular belief. But that can't be true because they also believe that one ought to have evidence for all...