Quote:
Originally Posted by TracyCoxx
Atheist.
The universe and everything within it (and everything outside it?) runs entirely according to natural laws.
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There would seem to be a contradiction in the paradigm that you espouse as your belief. I would assume that you claim the title of "atheist" based largely on a materialist ontology that relates to the alleged superiority of logical empiricism in Western culture. (Maybe I'm wrong in this assumption, but it seems to be the statistically most popular claim to atheism, so grant me some leniency if you arrive at the atheistic paradigm through routes other than classical.)
Herein is the problem of your statement, it relies on a materialist and empirical ontology and then assumes a dualist (?) ontology perhaps? You reference the realm of the empirically physical, and seemingly defer the majority of your premise to natural law. However, at the same time, you mention the possibility (by virtue of your parenthetical clause) of something existing outside of the universe. This admission clearly falls outside of the realm of empiricism and materialism, and even the heart of your world view. As best as contemporary science can tell, anything that exists outside of the universe is not bound by natural law, as natural law breaks down at the singularity of the big bang. What then, if not natural law, guides this realm outside of the universe? (Various ontologists have referred to this realm as the "atemporal" in exploring these possibilities.)
So, by admitting a possibility of existence beyond the universe, you have to admit possibilities beyond the materialist and natural law-bound. You would perhaps better refer to yourself as an agnostic than an atheist, as you seem to have some leniency regarding your paradigm. No offense friend, I've met very few truly hard-core atheists, as the underlying architecture of their view does not in fact exclude the possibility of God. Alas, much of this discussion devolves into a matter of semantics of how we define words such as "atheist" and "agnostic," so I mean no offense if you care to disagree on semantic grounds.