Atheism: All That Matters

All That Matters

by Dylan Evans

Atheism is becoming increasingly popular and it sometimes feels that much of the western world is now post-religious. But now the initial charge of Richard Dawkins and the new atheists has past, what does atheism really mean?

This is the question that Dylan Evans addresses in Atheism: All That Matters, providing a thoughtful and engaging atheist manifesto.

What values can atheists share with believers?How can a belief that something doesn't exist still be a belief?Is modern atheism new or just a new form of an old system of values?

Building on the work of atheist philosophers and psychologists, he shows how the history of atheist thought has developed and offers fresh ideas for how life has meaning from an atheist perspective.

All That Matters about atheism. All That Matters books are a fast way to get right to the heart of key issues.

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2014

About the author

Dylan Evans is the founder of Projection Point, the global leader in risk intelligence solutions. He has written several popular science books, including Risk Intelligence: How to Live with Uncertainty (2012), Emotion: The Science of Sentiment (2001) and Placebo: The Belief Effect (2003), and in 2001 he was voted one of the twenty best young writers in Britain by the Independent on Sunday. He received a PhD in Philosophy from the London School of Economics in 2000, and has held academic appointments at King's College London, the University of Bath, the University of the West of England, and University College Cork, and the American University of Beirut.

Reviews

[Pete F · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have finished reading another atheist book called simply 'Atheism' by Dylan Evans. To someone like myself who has recently left a Christian faith behind, it's an engaging book to read and it took me a few days to read it reading a bit at a time on buses.

While some atheists might not like Richard Dawkins' style of atheism which can sound arrogant and elitist, those atheists may be more at home with this book as the author does not attempt to evangelise his atheism like Dawkins or the late Christopher Hitchens.

The author looks at definitions of atheism and rhetorically questions why we need to have a word to describe a lack of belief. He looks at the history of unbelief, the psychology of faith, atheism and religion, ethics, the meaning of life without a god, and there is an appendix in which is included a secular 10 commandments, lists of well-known atheists, atheist books, some films that atheists should see, and some quotations.

One of the more exciting albeit controversial ideas in this book (controversial that is, if one is a fundamentalist atheist like Dawkins) is the idea that one can still be spiritual without compromising one's atheism, so for example, one can be a Buddhist or a Taoist because it does not involve belief in God, so one can meditate and carry out spiritual practices. And even if this does not appeal, atheists can take solace from nature and science, art and literature. Just because one is an atheist does not mean that there cannot be a purpose in one's life. This is good atheistic food for thought.

[Peter Mathews · Rating 2 out of 5]

An adolescent-level overview of atheism and its permutations. I'm giving it an extra star only because Evans doesn't like the dogmatism of the New Atheists, but otherwise this book is not worth your time.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I enjoyed this book it should really be named Atheism: All That Matters According To Dylan Evans. There was far too much of the author's ideology and opinion (and some blatant misconceptions: asserting in one sentence an atheist "knows there is no god." I'm an atheist and don't claim such knowledge) and not enough even handed explanation of the myriad interpretations and view points of atheism. But perhaps that would be far too big a book to fit in with the All That Matters series format. All in all I enjoyed this brief book, and found the notes on top ten websites, books, atheists and songs etc at the back particularly useful. I would possibly recommend the book to someone who had recently came to the conclusion that they are atheists, but only as a brief primer and certainly not 'All That Matters'.

[Veena · Rating 4 out of 5]

friend came up to me one day and said “So you believe in God uh? How do you know if he even exists? Let alone watching over you.” The discussion went on from religion to spirituality to science and ended with the same question. I guess no one can ever answer this question. And even if someone does, man will go on believing in what he has always believed. For the sole reason that he is an insecure human being. The constant need to be guided will never escape him!

I picked up this book to understand how people live, not believing in God.

to read the complete review, please visit:

http://acupofcoffeeandafairytale.blog...

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too tolerant of people making mistakes & inflicting them on others