Summary
Title: Naturalism and Religion
Author: Kai Nielsen
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1573928534
Pro:
• Explains the nature of naturalism and why it is preferable to religion
• Extensive defense of naturalism against most common arguments
Con:
• Very complex — more for philosophers and students than lay readers
Description:
• 3 sections — explaining naturalism, defending naturalism and addressing Wittgenstein
• Address challenges posed by most major philosophers during 20th century
• Articulate defense of the naturalistic position
Book Review
According to Nielsen, professor emeritus in the department of philosophy at the University of Calgary and adjunct professor of philosophy at Concordia University in Montreal, the latter is the best choice, and he argues forcefully that others should adopt it as well. This does not, however, mean that he is unsympathetic to religion and why it is used by so many in order to make some sense out of life. Nevertheless, he still does not think that religion is successful or reasonable. After all, understanding religion and its appeal is not the same as believing it or considering it a viable alternative.
What is naturalism? According to Nielsen:
- ”Naturalism denies that there are any spiritual or supernatural realities. There are, that is, no purely mental substances and there are no supernatural realities transcendent to the world or at least we have no sound grounds for believing that there are such realities or perhaps even believing that there could be such realities.”
[...]
“Naturalism, where consistent, is an atheism. It need not be a militant atheism and it should not be dogmatic: it should not claim that it is certain that theism is either false or incoherent. ...naturalists, if they are reasonable, will argue for atheism in a fallibilistic, and sometimes even moderately skeptical, manner...”
For Nielsen, naturalism should not be treated as amoral. He advocates a humanistic naturalism in which human beings and their need play a central role. It is also egalitarian, in the sense that every human being should count equally with all others. The goal should be the attainment of a society in which people are equally free and have an equal voice in what happens.
