1 thought on “ATHEISM: “Atheism is Not A Negation of Anything” / Madalyn Murray O’Hair”
An interesting argument by the godmother of American atheism but it’s accuracy depends on how you’re using ‘negation.’ I’m not a technical logician but it would seem that atheism (not theism) would be a negation of the proposition of theism. The Greek “a” in atheism is, if I understand correctly, better translated as “without”; So, I operate without a theistic belief, just as an (a)gnostic operates without knowledge of whether deities exist or not. Further, atheism does not, in itself, affirm anything; Secular humanism does.
h/t: Anti-Theists. Pro Active Atheists. Opposing Religious Harm.
Always Question Authority 
An interesting argument by the godmother of American atheism but it’s accuracy depends on how you’re using ‘negation.’ I’m not a technical logician but it would seem that atheism (not theism) would be a negation of the proposition of theism. The Greek “a” in atheism is, if I understand correctly, better translated as “without”; So, I operate without a theistic belief, just as an (a)gnostic operates without knowledge of whether deities exist or not. Further, atheism does not, in itself, affirm anything; Secular humanism does.