Summary
Title: Atheism, Morality, and Meaning (Prometheus Lecture Series),
Author: Michael Martin.
Publisher: Prometheus Books.
ISBN: 1573929875
Pro:
• Addresses arguments and claims often left alone
• Explains how atheism does not make morality and meaning difficult issues
Con:
• Probably a bit difficult for some readers
• Does not explain why moral objectivism is preferable to relativism
Description:
• Analysis of the viability of theism and religion to provide a basis for objective morality and meaning
• Argues that atheism provides a better basis than theism for objective morality and meaning
• Explains how morality and meaning can be defended without assuming the existence of any gods
Book Review
Demonstrating that neither theism nor religion are required for morality is the principle goal of Atheism, Morality, and Meaning by Michael Martin. A professor emeritus of philosophy at Boston University, Martin has written numerous books on philosophy, often concentrating on the debate between atheism and theism.
In this latest work he fills a problematic gap in the available literature because little of what is currently available focuses on the difference between atheistic and theistic morality (and what does exist is usually written from a theistic perspective). At the same time, so many believers quickly argue that theism is preferable to atheism because of the latter’s supposed inability to properly ground morality and meaning.
Martin’s task is broad in scope: to show that morality is possible absent any assumption of the existence of any gods, to show that human life can have meaning and purpose absent those same assumptions, and to show moreover that traditional theistic beliefs don’t do a good job at grounding morality, meaning, or purpose — just what believers claim to be true about atheism. Martin is very much the man for the job, however, tackling the issues systematically and carefully over his book’s four sections and laying out his case in as clear and unambiguous a manner as possible.
Of course, it is all too much to summarize here, but it should be observed that in discussing the relevance of theism to moral philosophy he does something not often seen: he makes a case for moral realism and moral objectivism independent of any transcendent beings, realms, or values. Most atheists argue for some form of moral subjectivism or relativism, tacitly accepting the theistic premise that without gods, there can be no objective moral standards and that there aren’t any objective moral facts (or at least any that we can access).
Martin, however, accepts the challenges posed by theistic philosophers by arguing that moral objectivism and realism are not only possible alongside atheism, but that traditional forms of theism actually fail to support them in the way that is commonly assumed. Now, Martin’s principle objectives don’t require that any readers actively adopt his ethical theories — and many people won’t. Not only are some theistic objections left unaddressed, but he does too little to make a case against moral subjectivism and relativism.
However, merely showing that his ideas are coherent and well-supported is enough to demonstrate that atheism and morality (even objective morality) are compatible.
He may not offer arguments good enough to get atheists to abandon moral subjectivism and relativism, but he certainly offers arguments that should get many apologists and theologians to abandon many of their moral arguments for adopting theism. As Martin says when he concludes his book, “Christian theists can no longer correctly claim that objective morality and a meaningful life are impossible from an atheist perspective or that Christianity has established objective morality and the meaningfulness of life.
Despite the clarity and skill with which Martin writes, quite a lot of what he has to say may still prove difficult for most lay readers. A person with little or no background in philosophy and will struggle with some of the arguments. That isn’t Martin’s fault: it is unlikely that much of what he writes could be made simpler. On the other hand, a person does not need to be a philosophy student or expert in order to understand and learn quite a lot. It belongs on the bookshelf of anyone who is interested in discussions about naturalism, atheism, theism, and morality.
