Doubts & Questions

A World Without Meaning?

Imagine standing alone on the edge of a vast canyon, gazing into an expanse that stretches beyond sight. The wind whispers through the rock, carved by time itself, and for a fleeting moment, you sense the weight of existence pressing in. You are here - but why? If atheism is true, the answer is simple: there is no reason. The universe is indifferent, your thoughts are mere chemical reactions, and all meaning is an illusion. But something in you resists this conclusion. Why?

The Illusion of Meaning

If the universe is nothing more than atoms in motion, then everything we hold dear - love, justice, morality - is merely a convenient trick of evolution, designed to help our species survive. But do we actually live as if this were true?

Consider the feeling of outrage when we witness an act of cruelty. A child suffering at the hands of another - does this evoke only a cold recognition of survival mechanisms at play? Or does it stir something deeper, an innate knowledge that suffering should not be? Yet, in a purely material universe, there is no “should.” There is only what is. The horrors of history are not evil; they are simply the way certain collections of atoms interacted at a given moment in time.

But this is not how we experience life. We cry out for justice, we seek purpose, we love with a passion that defies mere survival instinct. If atheism is true, these impulses are false guides - tricks played upon us by our biology. Yet, if they are illusions, why do they feel more real than anything else?

The Paradox of Reason

If our minds are the accidental byproducts of evolution, shaped solely for survival rather than truth, then why should we trust them? The very reasoning that leads one to atheism would itself be suspect - after all, survival does not require objective truth, only functional utility. If our thoughts are just neuron firings aimed at keeping us alive, then what guarantee do we have that they are reliable?

And yet, we live as if truth matters. We debate, we question, we seek understanding, assuming that our minds are capable of grasping reality. But if atheism is true, then our reasoning is simply a means to an end, not a path to truth. Atheism, in its pursuit of reason, ultimately undermines the foundation upon which reason stands.

The Evolutionary Dead End

Look at history - those who believed in something beyond the material world have flourished. Studies show that religious individuals, on average, live longer, have more children, and report greater life satisfaction. If survival is the ultimate goal, then atheism is an evolutionary disadvantage - a mutation that works against itself.

Even our earliest ancestors, long before modern civilization, sensed something greater. If spirituality were merely an accident, why has it persisted in every culture, across every era? Why does the longing for transcendence appear to be a fundamental part of the human experience? It seems that, just as eyesight evolved to perceive light, perhaps our spiritual intuition evolved to perceive a reality beyond the physical.

A Question Left Unanswered

If atheism is true, then all of this - our sense of justice, our pursuit of truth, our longing for meaning - is an error, an evolutionary hiccup with no real foundation. But if these things are real, if our deepest convictions point toward something beyond mere survival, then atheism is incomplete.

So here we stand, at the edge of the canyon. The view stretches before us - cold, indifferent, or perhaps, something more. The question lingers, waiting for an answer. What if atheism is not the end of the road, but merely a turn in a longer journey?

What if... the Physical Universe is All That Exists?

I.e. what if atheism is true?