Thomas Nagel on Atheism

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"I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.” [1]

 Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

 Footnote:
1. The Last Word by Thomas Nagel, Oxford University Press: 1997.

Comments

bbrown said…

He does "not want the universe to be like that". I have to wonder what he means by that? What kind of universe is he imagining? He seems to imagine that the existence of God has to be a bad thing. Sure seems like some sort of negative emotional presuppositions going on here.
September 25, 2013 at 6:51 AM
Andrew Ryan said…
"Sure seems like some sort of negative emotional presuppositions going on here."

Surely no more than a Christian saying he wants there to be a God, and wouldn't want to live in a Godless universe.
September 26, 2013 at 8:35 AM
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