In this episode of "Unsolicited Advice," Joe Folley conducts a philosophical autopsy of New Atheism, exploring its core beliefs, strengths, and pitfalls. He identifies four key tenets of New Atheism: atheism, the belief that there are no good reasons to believe in God, anti-theism, and a strong confidence in reason. Folley argues that while New Atheism effectively challenged certain theistic arguments, particularly those related to creationism and biblical literalism, it often misrepresented more sophisticated theological arguments and became overly dismissive of religious belief. He suggests that the future of religious debate lies in approaching the topic with more humility, recognizing the diversity of positions within both theism and atheism, and addressing specific questions in a more piecemeal fashion, recommending works by Graham Oppie, Ed Faser, Bertram Russell, and Frederick Copleston for further exploration. The episode is sponsored by Ground News, a platform for comparing news coverage from various sources.
