r/TrueAtheism • u/blackdukewilder • 6h ago
I wrote a book arguing theism is unintelligible rather than false
The claim is that "God exists" never finishes becoming a claim, so there is nothing there to affirm or deny. Not that it's false. That it never got assembled.
Every concept you own was built from materials that came in through the apparatus. Not just the sensory ones. The abstractions too, which are compressions of things found inside experience. There is no other stock. So when someone offers a being categorically outside all possible experience who is nonetheless in contact with you, the words are grammatical and ancient and set to music, and when you try to assemble what they point at you're reaching for the outside using parts made of inside.
Which means the positive atheist has the same problem. Calling a sentence false requires getting it to say something first. Falsehood is a verdict and verdicts need a defendant. Two ancient armies have been contesting the ownership of a plate that was empty the whole time.
The book runs as exercises rather than assertions, because the failure has to happen in you where you can watch it. Try to imagine a color you've never seen. Stand at a mirror and look from your own left eye to your right and try to catch them moving. Hold the word God and check where each piece came from.
It's about seventeen thousand words. Six chapters.
I wrote it, so weigh that accordingly. It's public domain and free in full, which is the only reason I feel alright posting it here rather than just describing it.
I'd love to hear this sub's thoughts.
Free to read: the-windowless-room.com
Free audiobook, about 1 hour 47 minutes
The full text is public domain under CC0.