The other side

[supergee]

A while back Scott Alexander linked to and agreed with one Frederik deBoer, who defined himself as an atheist because he does not believe in “a supernatural entity that created the universe, has absolute dominion over the universe, dictates the meaning of good and evil, and sorts people into one pile or the other.” By that definition, I am an atheist, but so are many people who define themselves as theists, including some who are ordained as such. Theism is more complicated than that.

I wonder if I am making the same sort of mistake in the opposite direction. To me, materialists are people who believe that the human spirit is nothing more than a natural process or product of the body, which I cannot distinguish from saying that it is produced in essentially the same way as methane at the other end. Am I missing something?

Comments

[snippy]

Not sure-there is more and more evidence that our sense of self is an expression of our physical attributes (hormones etc.) combined with memories (which we modify at will to satisfy our sense of narrative). I would like to believe in something more, but it seems to make my life better not to, to instead focus on making each day better for me and others, on making the world a better place without wondering whether I'll get a reward later. As if making the world a better place right now, increasing justice and fairness right now, isn't enough reward!

[andrewducker]

I think I'd need some kind of definition of "human spirit" before I could tell you what I thought it was, or whether I thought it was at all.