Atheism and happiness

[bandit4god]

Honest theist question: what is life's goal for an atheist?  Stated differently, what is happiness?

[elliebean]

Those are two very different questions.

In any case, I suspect no two atheists will give exactly the same answer to either question, since we generally try to find our own goals and our own definitions of happiness, without trying to conform to some pooly translated, badly interpreted, ancient script or someone else's religious dogma or prescribed philosophy.

Me, my goal is whatever I want to do on a given day; happiness is doing that...


Or giving it a good try and learning something in the process...






Or having something totally unexpected, but equally or more enjoyable happen instead...






AND

Seeing others being happy too, or at least getting happier.

 

[bandit4god]

Thanks, Ellie, appreciate the post! Could I sum up your answer as the following?
- It's different for every atheist
- For you, it's doing whatever you want on a given day, learning something, unexpected pleasures, and/or seeing others being/getting happy

How does being an atheist add to your happiness?  If someone said they were not an atheist, could they still find happiness in the above?

[elliebean]

I don't see why not.

My atheism seems to have very little bearing on my ability to be happy; it's just one of many facts about me. Not even a particularly important or interesting one.

Finding happiness is not something I put a lot of thought into. Nor do I tend to make any long-term goals, unless it concerns my health. My diminished capacity for forming and recalling new memories demands that I keep it simple.

The problem of avoiding unhappiness, though... that there is a whole different discussion.

[Will]

Honest theist question: what is life's goal for an atheist?  Stated differently, what is happiness?

My life's goals are to be a good husband and father, to understand the world around me, to learn to express myself through art, to help other people when they are in need, and to leave the world a better than than I've found it (which I suppose leads back to being a good father in a way). These are only my goals, though. Other atheists have other goals or no goals at all. We are free to choose.

How does being an atheist add to your happiness?

Being an atheist doesn't necessarily add to happiness, but rather prevents certain kinds of sadness. When I was religious, I feared doubt, curiosity, and skepticism. While I didn't realize it at the time, I was sad and less fulfilled because I believed in god. Exploring and satiating my curiosity makes me very happy and feels in tune with who I am at my core. I'm a curious fellow, as it were. Atheism more explains what I'm not than what I am, though.

If someone said they were not an atheist, could they still find happiness in the above?

They could, sure. It might be a bit more complicated, though, because theists generally have external rules and goals to adhere to, things which, by choice or not, make them slightly less free. I would hope that they can find fulfillment within the confines of the rules and goals supplied by their religion or faith, but based on my experience there are times when there can arise conflict.

An example would be a healthy romantic and sexual relationship. Part of being happy, for me, is having a healthy relationship with someone I love. I've never been married, though, and according to some theistic faiths I have lived in sin in my pursuit of happiness in that way. Had I been religious at the time, I would have had to choose between the rules of the creator and dictator of the universe, that come with significant punishment in the form of eternal torture, or exploring and experiencing love to it's fullest.

Welcome to the forum.

[Three_Brane]

I have frequently been asked variations of this question by my religious friends. Religious people often make the assumption that life without god is meaningless. From my perspective, it is certainly true that life has no objective purpose. But I do not find that problematic. In fact, that is, in my opinion, one of the most wonderful things about living a godless life. Rather than having your life directed by the edicts of the authors of the Bible and the modern day interpreters of their words, you are free to live your life in accordance with your own desires.

Atheists create their own goals. For an atheist, the meaning of life is whatever they choose it to be. Of course, this will vary from person to person, but that is fine. People should do whatever makes them happy, just so long as they do not hurt anyone else.

[Whitney]

Honest theist question: what is life's goal for an atheist?  Stated differently, what is happiness?

For most theists their views of God affect their life goals and what makes them happy because their religions contain dogma and rituals witch guide and often dictate what they ought to choose as a goal and what they ought to enjoy.  However, most atheists do not have a religion (I say most since original Buddhism is atheistic) so their being an atheist does not in any way affect what they might choose as a goal or what they may find joy in.  This is why you won't get similar answers from a group of atheists; or at least not similar due to their being atheist (possibly similar due to us all being human; I would expect theists to answer similarly if they were asked to answer without using religious answers)

Personally, I don't have much of a life goal and tend to be more focused on short term goals with the bigger life goal as a guiding idea rather than an end goal.  So with that in mind I'd say my life goal is to enjoy life and try to make life better for others while I'm at it.

Happiness, I would say, is a state of being in a place emotionally where you are not with want to live a different life because you are able to enjoy what you have even if there is room for growth/improvement.

[bandit4god]

Awesome, thanks all for the replies!  I'm intrigued by the thematic consistency in the above as evidenced by the following quotes:
- "...my goal is whatever I want to do on a given day..."
- "...exploring and satiating my curiosity makes me very happy..."
- "...according to some theistic faiths I have lived in sin in my pursuit of happiness..."
- "...you are free to live your life in accordance with your own desires..."
- "...Atheists create their own goals..."
- "...people should do whatever makes them happy..."
- "...the meaning of life is whatever they choose it to be..."
- "...my life goal is to enjoy life and try to make life better for others while I'm at it..."

While it's true the above quotes came from only four respondents, it's striking to note the similarity.  Look forward to hearing some more responses!

[McQ]

I agree with Ellie that those are two different questions. In fact, I am not sure I understand the first question, "what is life's goal for an atheist?"
Do you mean to ask what is an atheist's goal for living? Or are you asking what life's goal is - aka what is life's purpose?

If you are asking what an atheist's goal is for life or living, I would have to say it will be different for every person, atheist or not. Not even people of the same religion will have exactly the same goals for living. So it is a very individual thing and can't be generalized to a group.

To go along with that is the fact that there is nothing common about atheists other than a single shared lack of belief in deities. Other than that, they are as different as everyone else.

My goals have changed over the course of my life. Now, I try to better the human condition, be a loving father, husband and friend.

Second question, "Stated differently, what is happiness?"

So broad, it's hard to answer. I'll leave that to the philosophers.

Welcome to the forum.

[Asmodean]

My goal is to do as many things I want to do and to experience as much as I can before the curtains-down.

Happiness...    Well, I get my fix by succeeding at challenging tasks or hanging with my friends without any particular reason or purpose... I don't really need the prospect of a brighter future to be happy.

[Velma]

Honest theist question: what is life's goal for an atheist?  Stated differently, what is happiness?

I don't think the two questions are the same at all - and I'm not quite sure what you are wanting to know.  Are you asking what makes an atheist get out of bed every morning?  Are you wanting to know what makes an atheist's life happy?

[Inevitable Droid]

Atheism conditions the answer to the OP only negatively, in that the answer isn't conditioned by theism.  The same is true for amorality, in that the answer isn't conditioned by morality.  Atheism and amorality can intersect but don't have to.

Life in general has the goal of momentary satisfaction with the current level of fulfillment of all particular goals.  That momentary satisfaction is happiness.  Particular goals can only be identified by querying a particular life.

Theism is the condition of being subject to the illusion of a universal being or the illusion of some non-existent attribute universal to all beings.  Morality is the illusion of universal goals, which may or may not be be grounded in theism.  The interesection of atheism and amorality is freedom from any illusions regarding a universal being, a non-existent attribute universal to all beings, or universal goals.

The amoral creature pursues no universal goals, but only those particular goals it finds active in its own particular life.  All non-human creatures are amoral, and some humans are.  An amoral creature is dangerous to other creatures to the extent its particular goals are dangerous to other creatures. A moral creature as such is dangerous to other creatures to the extent its illusory universal goals are dangerous to other creatures, which seems only to occur when morality is grounded in theism.  Atheistic moralities seem always to glorify either benevolence or fairness, or, usually, both, and while these theoretically could turn dangerous toward anyone the atheist perceived as malevolent or unfair; I.e., the pursuit of vengeance could ensue; this tends to be rare, because, for whatever reason, atheists tend to be non-violent unless directly provoked in a physical manner.  It is certainly possible to be both atheistic and sociopathic, it is merely rare, primarily because sociopathy is rare.  It is equally possible to be both sociopathic and theistic, the presumed requirement being that one's illusory universal entity or illusory universal attribute doesn't demand benevolence and fairness, or, at least, that one doesn't care if it does.

Sociopaths tend to be amoral, but the reverse isn't true, partly because amoral humans can and often do develop empathy, and partly because amoral humans can and often do develop sufficient caution to make them hesitate regarding antisocial behaviors for fear of consequences.  The sociopath lacks both the requisite empathy and the requisite caution that would preclude antisocial behavior.

[Chandler M Bing]

I suppose it's possible for an atheist to be ok with the idea of this world being all there is, and to be happy. Obvious however that requires acceptance, which is fine. On the other hand, if that acceptance is lacking, the atheist would of course be less able to be happy. For theists that isn't an issue.

[bandit4god]

Great stuff, sounds like we are getting somewhere.  Given the above, perhaps you'd indulge me one more question.

It's clear from your posts that there is a theme around, "Happiness for the atheist is defined by the individual, pursuing whatever potential sources of happiness he/she desires".  My question, then, is what comes first for the atheist:  the desire to do whatever you want, or the belief that there is no god?  It seems possible to me that, if the former was firmly established, it could dramatically influence whatever intellectual processes go into assessing the latter.  Thoughts?

[Whitney]

All humans (all living things), regardless of their views of god have a desire to do whatever they want.  Even when we choose to subject ourselves to control we are still doing whatever we want because we would always have the option to be disobedient (barring we aren't restrained and drugged).

My being an atheist has very little bearing on my life other than that I would like to be able to not be a theist and that be accepted by the majority of society (which seems to be happening within my life time).  

I'm not emotionally tied to there not being a god;  I just think it is more likely that the idea of a god is purely a man made concept than it is possible that some sort of creator exists.

Anyway, you seem to be taking what we say and trying to shoe horn it into an idea.  For instance, most of us didn't say we should do whatever we want, many of us also threw in some ethics/greater good etc.  Also, I don't think many if any of us claimed to have a positive negative belief towards god (which is philosophically different from lacking belief).  Are you hoping to prove some sort of point?  If so it would be a lot faster to just say what you think and why then let people respond to your ideas as a whole.