• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Randal Rauser

Home of progressively evangelical, generously orthodox, rigorously analytic, revolutionary Christian thinking (that's what I'm aiming for anyway)

  • About
  • Books
  • Articles
    • Articles (single)
    • Articles (in series)
  • Audio/Video
    • Audio Interviews, Lectures, and Debates
    • Video Interviews and Lectures
    • Powerpoint Slides
  • Blog
    • Current Posts
    • Blog Archives
  • Podcasts
    • The Tentative Apologist Podcast
    • Archived Podcasts
    • Reviews

Atheism, Christianity, and Naive Empiricism

July 10, 2018 by Randal

The term naive empiricism refers to the view that knowledge only comes through empirical means (e.g. science). It’s called naive because this strain of empiricism lacks nuance and fails to recognize the amount of information, belief, and knowledge which is not acquired through empirical means. The most famous naive empiricists of the twentieth century were the logical positivists, but logical positivism fell apart seventy years ago largely due to the internal contradictions with the view.

However, you’d never know it by talking to many lay people who identify as both atheists and skeptics. Within that crowd, the dated claim that all justified belief or knowledge must conform to scientific or empirical means is surprisingly common. For example, the armchair naive empiricist will say things like this:

“If I can’t see it, taste it, touch it, smell it, or hear it, it doesn’t exist.”

Or this:

“I’ll only believe in God if there is scientific evidence. For example, God could have written his name in DNA.”

Naive empiricism turns up in some strange places. Consider, for example, some recent comments from Rodrigo Duterte, the vulgar and bullying president of the Philippines. Duterte touts his own atheism and recently declared belief in God stupid. He went on to issue a surprising challenge: if anybody can provide a photograph of God, Duterte would resign the presidency. (Source)

Um, yeah…

But it isn’t just atheists and self-described skeptics who exhibit the characteristics of naive empiricism. Sometimes Christians do as well. I don’t know how else to describe this jaw-dropping, embarrassing case of popular preacher Louie Giglio citing the cruciform shape of the protein laminin as evidence for God:

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, empiricism, naive empiricism, skepticism

Footer

Against Malaria Foundation

Against Malaria Foundation

Support Kiva

Support Kiva

Search this website

Archives



Copyright © 2022 • Randal Rauser • A Steady Site