Abstract
Ronald Dworkin and Philip Kitcher recognize that traditional, religious faith—especially in Christian theistic tradition—has virtues that seem to be missing in a secular worldview. To remedy this apparent deficit, they both propose that a secular worldview can provide a satisfying foundation for a flourishing, meaningful life. Moreover, Kitcher argues that secular humanism is far more justified than a religious worldview because it does not face the problem of diversity that arises in the case of religion. I argue that secular humanism faces the same problem of diversity that Kitcher proposes undermines religious belief. I further argue that Dworkin’s and Kitcher’s secular alternative to a religious worldview is problematic.
Highlights
Some of the so-called “new atheists” such as Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and the late ChristopherHitchens advanced their case against theism, especially Christian theism, with little appreciation of anything culturally or philosophically positive about theism and with little doubt about the sufficiency of a secular worldview in providing a satisfying alternative framework for a meaningful life
Two recent contributions by self-described atheists Ronald Dworkin and Philip Kitcher adopt a different stance: both express appreciation for the merits of religious tradition, the theistic strands as found in the Abrahamic faiths, and both concede that it is not obvious how a secular worldview is able to offer a deeply satisfying understanding of life and death and the feeling of awe that seems to be called for as we contemplate the beauty of the cosmos
I offer an overview of the secular humanism defended by Dworkin and Kitcher
Summary
Some of the so-called “new atheists” such as Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and the late Christopher. The Platonic Christian tradition contends that a life lived with God amounts to a high calling of seeking justice, compassionate action for the sake of the dispossessed, and a dedicated responsiveness to the values and disvalues of the world (that is, to use Platonic language, to promote the good, the true, and the beautiful and to redeem, confront, salvage, or rescue those who oppose the good, the true, and the beautiful) This tradition holds that each created person matters so much that the God of incalculable love acts and will act so that physical death is not the annihilation of persons but an occasion of transformation in which there may be an inexhaustibly enhanced afterlife where there will be a triumph of both justice and mercy.
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