Passing Through the Disorienting Wilderniss of Nihilism: Hope, Constructive Atheism and the Importance of Jamesian Meliorism

Does New Atheism have anything more to offer than a mere negative criticism of
religion? Critics of this movement, such as John F. Haught, often propose
legitimate retorts. Atheism seems to offer little or no response to some pivotal
questions: What does the absence of God really mean? How to pass through the
disorienting wilderness of nihilism? How to avoid life numbing cynicism in a
contingent reality? In sum, is all hope lost once we embrace atheism? I will show
how William James's ontological anarchism holds a strong message for atheists
who want to surpass the merely negative deconstruction of religion and spread a
message of hope. James's philosophy might contribute to a constructive/positive
atheism and offer hope and encouragement for those who try to establish progress
in our lives as well as human existence in general. The pragmatic perspective treats
progress as possible, thus avoiding utopian or dystopian teleological ends, while at
the same time making the possibility of progress and salvation depend on our own
efforts, hence rejecting cynicism and nihilism and, in turn, offering hope.

ISBN:978-1-84888-259-1

Publication year:2013

Keywords:William James, Hope, Meliorism, Atheism, Constructive Atheism, Leo Apostel