09 Jul '10 13:23>
I have a suspicion.
I suspect that most believers think it is better that God should exist than not exist whereas most atheists think it is better that God should not exist than exist. Put another way, there are relatively few believers who would regret the existence of God, and relatively few atheists who would regret his non-existence.
Perhaps we could take a straw poll to get an idea of the truth of this suspicion.
If true, that would mean that, when it comes to the existence of God, belief and desire typically line up in the same direction.
Let's assume it is true. If so, why? Two key possibilities occur to me.
First, the preference that God should either exist or not tends to engender the belief that God does either exist or not. This would mean that beliefs about the existence or non-existence of God are at least partly motivated.
Second, the belief that God does or does not exist tends to foster the view that his existence or non-existence, respectively, is better than the alternative. This would mean that preferences for the existence or non-existence of God are at least partly rationalizations.
Or is there another explanation that preserves the rationality of belief in, and desire for, God's existence or non-existence?
Or, is it only believers or atheists who are principally responsible for driving the belief-desire correlation?
I also wonder whether agonstics might be more open-minded about whether the existence of God would be a good or a bad thing.
I suspect that most believers think it is better that God should exist than not exist whereas most atheists think it is better that God should not exist than exist. Put another way, there are relatively few believers who would regret the existence of God, and relatively few atheists who would regret his non-existence.
Perhaps we could take a straw poll to get an idea of the truth of this suspicion.
If true, that would mean that, when it comes to the existence of God, belief and desire typically line up in the same direction.
Let's assume it is true. If so, why? Two key possibilities occur to me.
First, the preference that God should either exist or not tends to engender the belief that God does either exist or not. This would mean that beliefs about the existence or non-existence of God are at least partly motivated.
Second, the belief that God does or does not exist tends to foster the view that his existence or non-existence, respectively, is better than the alternative. This would mean that preferences for the existence or non-existence of God are at least partly rationalizations.
Or is there another explanation that preserves the rationality of belief in, and desire for, God's existence or non-existence?
Or, is it only believers or atheists who are principally responsible for driving the belief-desire correlation?
I also wonder whether agonstics might be more open-minded about whether the existence of God would be a good or a bad thing.