THE FAILURE OF NEW ATHEISM MORALITY

• Authors: Robert A. Delfino
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

New atheists, such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, generally speaking, are committed to two main beliefs. The first is scientism, which is the view that only science can give us complete and reliable knowledge of reality. The second is metaphysical naturalism, which is the view that no supernatural entities exist. In this article the author focuses on the metaphysical naturalism that new atheists and other naturalists accept, with the goal of answering the following question: Can metaphysical naturalism provide an adequate foundation for objective moral values? He argues that the answer is “no” and he discusses several serious problems inherent in a naturalistic account of the foundation of morality.

Keywords

EN

atheism; ethics; evolution; metaphysical naturalism; objective moral values

• Publisher: International Étienne Gilson Society
• Journal: Studia Gilsoniana
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 229-240

Dates

published

2015-09-30

Contributors

author

Robert A. Delfino

• St. John’s University, Staten Island, NY, USA

Notes

EN

Issue Theme: “Renewing the West: Religion, Atheism, and Common Sense.” Guest Editor of the Issue: Tomasz Kopiczko

Identifiers

ISSN

2300-0066