Atheist's Wager
Encyclopedia
The Atheist's Wager is an atheistic
response to Blaise Pascal's
Wager
. While Pascal suggested that it is better to take the chance of believing in a god
that might not exist rather than to risk losing infinite happiness by disbelieving in a god that does, the Atheist's Wager suggests that:
The following table shows the values assigned to each possible outcome:
A benevolent god exists
No benevolent god exists
Given these values, the option to live a good life (L) clearly dominates
the option of living an evil life (¬L), regardless of belief in a god (B or ¬B).
The Atheist's Wager equates a "benevolent god" to a god that punishes or rewards according to actions, implicitly assuming that a god that acts otherwise (such as the god of Pascal's wager, which rewards faith instead) is not a benevolent god.
This premise allows the second proposition to not only cover the possibility of the absence of any god, but also all possible gods that are not "benevolent"/punish and reward according to one's actions, thus covering all possibilities and making the dichotomy
legitimate.
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
response to Blaise Pascal's
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
Wager
Pascal's Wager
Pascal's Wager, also known as Pascal's Gambit, is a suggestion posed by the French philosopher, mathematician, and physicist Blaise Pascal that even if the existence of God could not be determined through reason, a rational person should wager as though God exists, because one living life...
. While Pascal suggested that it is better to take the chance of believing in a god
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
that might not exist rather than to risk losing infinite happiness by disbelieving in a god that does, the Atheist's Wager suggests that:
Explanation
The Wager states that if you were to analyse your options in regard to how to live your life, you would come out with the following possibilities:- You may live a good life and believe in a god, and a benevolent god exists, in which case you go to heaven: your gain is infinite.
- You may live a good life without believing in a god, and a benevolent god exists, in which case you go to heaven: your gain is infinite.
- You may live a good life and believe in a god, but no benevolent god exists, in which case you leave a positive legacy to the world; your gain is finite.
- You may live a good life without believing in a god, and no benevolent god exists, in which case you leave a positive legacy to the world; your gain is finite.
- You may live an evil life and believe in a god, and a benevolent god exists, in which case you go to hell: your loss is infinite.
- You may live an evil life without believing in a god, and a benevolent god exists, in which case you go to hell: your loss is infinite.
- You may live an evil life and believe in a god, but no benevolent god exists, in which case you leave a negative legacy to the world; your loss is finite.
- You may live an evil life without believing in a god, and no benevolent god exists, in which case you leave a negative legacy to the world; your loss is finite.
The following table shows the values assigned to each possible outcome:
| Belief in god (B) | No belief in god (¬B) | |
|---|---|---|
| Good life (L) | +∞ (heaven) | +∞ (heaven) |
| Evil life (¬L) | -∞ (hell) | -∞ (hell) |
| Belief in god (B) | No belief in god (¬B) | |
|---|---|---|
| Good life (L) | +X (positive legacy) | +X (positive legacy) |
| Evil life (¬L) | -X (negative legacy) | -X (negative legacy) |
Given these values, the option to live a good life (L) clearly dominates
Dominance (game theory)
In game theory, strategic dominance occurs when one strategy is better than another strategy for one player, no matter how that player's opponents may play...
the option of living an evil life (¬L), regardless of belief in a god (B or ¬B).
The apparent false dichotomy
Being a variation of Pascal's Wager, the Atheist's Wager seemingly suffers from the logical fallacy of the false dichotomy, relying on the assumption that the only possibilities are:- a benevolent god exists and punishes or rewards according to one's actions, or
- a benevolent god does not exist.
The Atheist's Wager equates a "benevolent god" to a god that punishes or rewards according to actions, implicitly assuming that a god that acts otherwise (such as the god of Pascal's wager, which rewards faith instead) is not a benevolent god.
This premise allows the second proposition to not only cover the possibility of the absence of any god, but also all possible gods that are not "benevolent"/punish and reward according to one's actions, thus covering all possibilities and making the dichotomy
Dichotomy
A dichotomy is any splitting of a whole into exactly two non-overlapping parts, meaning it is a procedure in which a whole is divided into two parts...
legitimate.
See also
- Existence of GodExistence of GodArguments for and against the existence of God have been proposed by philosophers, theologians, scientists, and others. In philosophical terms, arguments for and against the existence of God involve primarily the sub-disciplines of epistemology and ontology , but also of the theory of value, since...
- Pascal's WagerPascal's WagerPascal's Wager, also known as Pascal's Gambit, is a suggestion posed by the French philosopher, mathematician, and physicist Blaise Pascal that even if the existence of God could not be determined through reason, a rational person should wager as though God exists, because one living life...
- Decision theoryDecision theoryDecision theory in economics, psychology, philosophy, mathematics, and statistics is concerned with identifying the values, uncertainties and other issues relevant in a given decision, its rationality, and the resulting optimal decision...
- PhilosophyPhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
- Precautionary principlePrecautionary principleThe precautionary principle or precautionary approach states that if an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, in the absence of scientific consensus that the action or policy is harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those...
- ReligionReligionReligion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...