1. What does atheism say about the purpose (or the meaning) of life?

Comment #98466 by aDude on December 13, 2007 at 5:05 pm

Atheism, as in subscribing to rational and scientific arguments, teaches us that the art of living is not constrained by precepts engraved in stone or a defunct language.

That is a beginning, and we could take the argument much further. More prosaically, for me, it's about maximising my happiness, where my happiness is also a monotonically increasing function of the state of happiness of people I care about, the history of these relationships and the prospects of these relationships. ;-)

2. What does atheism say about the purpose (or the meaning) of life?

Comment #98465 by aDude on December 13, 2007 at 5:03 pm

Atheism, as in subscribing to rational and scientific arguments, teaches us that the art of living is not constrained by precepts engraved in stone or a defunct language.

That is a beginning, and we could take the argument much further. More prosaically, for me, it's about maximising my happiness, where my happiness is also a monotonically increasing function of the state of happiness of people I care about, the history of these relationships and the prospects of these relationships. ;-)

3. Hinduism and Buddhism offer much more sophisticated worldviews (or philosophies) and I see nothing wrong with these religions.

Comment #98464 by aDude on December 13, 2007 at 4:52 pm

To Wendelin and to answer the original post specifically about Hinduism- there is one powerful, and in my opinion unassailable argument against Hinduism, and that is casteism. I too was raised as a Hindu, an Untouchable and I could not begin to summarise or to enumerate the discrimination and pain.

Letting aside the whole "what is god? Does god exist?" point, I cannot believe that anyone respectful of sentient life would find there nothing to reproach in Hinduism.