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P1:FCW 0521842700pre CUNY474B/Martin 0521842700 Printer:cupusbw August28,2006 16:38 the cambridge companion to ATHEISM InTheCambridgeCompaniontoAtheism,eighteenoftheworld’s leading scholars present original essays on various aspects of atheism:itshistory,bothancientandmodern,defense,andimpli- cations. The topic is examined in terms of its implications for a widerangeofdisciplines,includingphilosophy,religion,feminism, postmodernism,sociology,andpsychology.Initsdefense,bothclas- sical and contemporary theistic arguments are criticized, and the argumentfromevilandimpossibilityarguments,alongwithanon- religiousbasisformorality,aredefended.Theseessaysgiveabroad understanding of atheism and a lucid introduction to this contro- versialtopic. MichaelMartinisProfessorofPhilosophyEmeritusatBostonUni- versity.Heistheauthorofmorethan150articlesandreviewsas wellasseveralbooks,includingAtheism,MoralityandMeaning; The Impossibility of God (with Ricki Monnier) and Atheism: A PhilosophicalJustification. Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2006 i P1:FCW 0521842700pre CUNY474B/Martin 0521842700 Printer:cupusbw August28,2006 16:38 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2006 ii P1:FCW 0521842700pre CUNY474B/Martin 0521842700 Printer:cupusbw August28,2006 16:38 cambridge companions to philosophy volumes in the series of cambridge companions: ABELARD Editedbyjeffrey e. browerand kevin guilfoy ADORNO Editedbytom hunn AQUINAS Editedbynorman kretzmannandeleonore stump HANNAH ARENDT Editedbydana villa ARISTOTLE Editedbyjonathan barnes AUGUSTINE Editedbyeleonore stumpand norman kretzmann BACON Editedbymarkku peltonen SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR Editedbyclaudia card DARWIN Editedbyjonathan hodgeand gregory radick DESCARTES Editedbyjohn cottingham DUNS SCOTUS Editedbythomas williams EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHY Editedbya. a. long FEMINISM IN PHILOSOPHY Editedbymiranda fricker andjennifer hornsby FOUCAULT SecondEdition Editedbygary gutting FREUD Editedbyjerome neu GADAMER Editedbyrobert j. dostal GALILEO Editedbypeter machamer GERMAN IDEALISM Editedbykarl ameriks GREEK AND ROMAN PHILOSOPHY Editedby david sedley HABERMAS Editedbystephen k. white HEGEL Editedbyfrederick beiser HEIDEGGER Editedbycharles guignon HOBBES Editedbytom sorell HUME Editedbydavid fate norton HUSSERL Editedbybarry smithand david woodruff smith WILLIAM JAMES Editedbyruth anna putnam KANT Editedbypaul guyer KIERKEGAARD Editedbyalastair hannayandgordon marino LEIBNIZ Editedbynicholas jolley ContinuedaftertheIndex Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2006 iii P1:FCW 0521842700pre CUNY474B/Martin 0521842700 Printer:cupusbw August28,2006 16:38 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2006 iv P1:FCW 0521842700pre CUNY474B/Martin 0521842700 Printer:cupusbw August28,2006 16:38 The Cambridge Companion to ATHEISM Edited by Michael Martin BostonUniversity Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2006 v P1:FCW 0521842700pre CUNY474B/Martin 0521842700 Printer:cupusbw August28,2006 16:38 cambridgeuniversitypress Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,Singapore,SaõPaulo CambridgeUniversityPress 32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,ny10013-2473,usa www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521842709 (cid:2)c CambridgeUniversityPress2007 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithout thewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2007 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData TheCambridgecompaniontoatheism/editedbyMichaelMartin. p. cm.–(Cambridgecompanionstophilosophy) Includesbibliographicalreferences. isbn0-521-84270-0(hardback)–isbn0-521-60367-6(pbk.) 1.Atheism. I.Martin,Michael,1932Feb.3– II.Title. III.Series. bl2747.3.c36 2007 211(cid:3).8–dc22 2006005949 isbn-13 978-0-521-84270-9hardback isbn-10 0-521-84270-0hardback isbn-13 978-0-521-60367-6paperback isbn-10 0-521-60367-6paperback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityfor thepersistenceoraccuracyofurlsforexternalor third-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhispublication anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch Websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2006 vi P1:FCW 0521842700pre CUNY474B/Martin 0521842700 Printer:cupusbw August28,2006 16:38 contents Contributors pageix Preface xiii Glossary xv GeneralIntroduction 1 PartI Background 1 AtheisminAntiquity 11 jan n. bremmer 2 AtheisminModernHistory 27 gavin hyman 3 Atheism:ContemporaryNumbersandPatterns 47 phil zuckerman PartII TheCaseagainstTheism 4 TheisticCritiquesofAtheism 69 william lane craig 5 TheFailureofClassicalTheisticArguments 86 richard m. gale 6 SomeContemporaryTheisticArguments 102 keith parsons 7 NaturalismandPhysicalism 118 evan fales 8 AtheismandEvolution 135 daniel c. dennett 9 TheAutonomyofEthics 149 david o. brink vii Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2006 P1:FCW 0521842700pre CUNY474B/Martin 0521842700 Printer:cupusbw August28,2006 16:38 viii contents 10 TheArgumentfromEvil 166 andrea m. weisberger 11 KalamCosmologicalArgumentsforAtheism 182 quentin smith 12 ImpossibilityArguments 199 patrick grim PartIII Implications 13 AtheismandReligion 217 michael martin 14 FeminismandAtheism 233 christine overall 15 AtheismandtheFreedomofReligion 250 steven g. gey 16 Atheism,A/theology,andthePostmodernCondition 267 john d. caputo 17 AnthropologicalTheoriesofReligion 283 stewart e. guthrie 18 Atheists:APsychologicalProfile 300 benjamin beit-hallahmi Index 319 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2006 P1:FCW 0521842700pre CUNY474B/Martin 0521842700 Printer:cupusbw August28,2006 16:38 contributors Moreextensivebiographicalmaterialaboutthecontributorscanusually beobtainedfromtheWebpageoftheirrespectiveacademicdepartments or,ifavailable,fromthecontributor’sownpersonalWebpageoronthe SecularWeb. benjamin beit-hallahmi is Professor of Psychology, University of Haifa,andauthorofPrologomenatothePsychologyofReligion(1989) andThePsychologyofReligiousBehaviour(1997). jan n. bremmer is Professor of the General History of Religion and theComparativeScienceofReligion,theUniversityofGroningen,the Netherlands,andtheauthorofGreekReligion(1999)andTheRiseand FalloftheAfterlife(2002). david o. brink is Professor of Philosophy, University of California at San Diego, and the author of Moral Realism and the Foundations of Ethics(1989)andPerfectionismandtheCommonGood:Themesinthe PhilosophyofT.H.Green(2003). johnd.caputoisThomasJ.WatsonProfessorofReligionandHuman- ities, Syracuse University, and author of On Religion (2001) and The WeaknessofGod:ATheologyoftheEvent(2006). williamlanecraigisResearchProfessorofPhilosophy,TalbotSchool of Theology, and author of The Kalam Cosmological Argument (1979) andGod,Time,andEternity(2001). daniel c. dennett is Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies, University Professor, Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, Tufts University,andauthorofDarwin’sDangerousIdea(1995)andFreedom Evolves(2003). ix Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2007 Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2006