Over at Patheos Atheist, Jeff Lowder is plugging an old essay of his promoting a stricter separation of atheism and freethought.
.@SecularOutpost: Stupid Atheist Meme #3: Freethinker = Atheist http://t.co/eOjXao09kv
— Patheos Nonreligious (@PatheosNonrelig) August 7, 2015
Former Skeptic Ink writer John Loftus is not having any of this:
https://twitter.com/thetruthatheism/status/630100041764462592
This is a just another silly semantic debate, but we’re bound to have those every now and again. Since it is Sunday afternoon and I’ve nothing else going on, what the hell. May as well weigh in on this.
The term “freethinker” has been used by unapologetically anti-theistic atheists since at least 1881, when The Freethinker first launched as a print publication. The term freethought has always been far broader than atheism, however, as it requires an epistemic approach which rejects authority, tradition, and dogma in basically all areas of study where truth is on the line, not merely the question of whether any gods exist. (And let’s face it, that really should be one of the easier ones.)
Whereas Lowder argues that freethinker is not synonymous with atheist, Loftus argues that organizations such as Freethought Radio, Freethought Blogs, and any given freethought conference are not “stupid” to organize under the banner of freethought. Please note that there is no strict logical contradiction here. Both of the following propositions can be true:
- Freethinker is a much broader term than atheist, since it describes a methodological approach to various questions besides the one about gods. (Jeff’s argument)
- It is not unwise for atheists to organize under the banner of freethought. (John’s argument)
I’d go so far as to say they are both true, myself.
I’m glad that Freethought Blogs chose that specific name; it is boldly aspirational given their history of rigid orthodoxy on various topics. Incorporating “freethought” gives them something to shoot for, that is, the rejection of received dogma in favor of logic, reason, and open debate. Similarly, I’m glad that my local atheist conference bills itself as a freethought convention, because that also sets a standard worth upholding. So also for the various freethought publications and audio/visual productions, from 1881 until 2015.
Atheism is a conclusion, one which may be reached by bad reasons or no reason at all. Freethought, like skepticism, is an ongoing process of ratiocination. Let us follow that process through, wherever it may lead.
