Atheism and Liberty: Compatible and Mutually Reinforcing - Part 3 of 3

Mr. Stolyarov presents two more arguments regarding the compatible and mutually reinforcing status of atheism and liberty - that atheism and liberty both free individuals from subjugation to lesser men and that atheism and liberty both enable the individual to not be unconditionally bound to any person, any text, or any concrete institution.

References:

"Atheism Facts and Myths" by G. Stolyarov II: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/785975/atheism_facts_and_myths.html?...

Sincerely,
Gennady Stolyarov II
Editor-in-Chief, The Rational Argumentator: http://rationalargumentator.com
Writer, Associated Content: http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/46796/g_stolyarov_ii.html
Author, Implied Consent, A Play on the Sanctity of Human Life: http://rationalargumentator.com/impliedconsent.html
Author, The Best Self-Help is Free: http://rationalargumentator.com/selfhelpfree.html
Author, The Progress of Liberty Blog: http://progressofliberty.today.com/

Category:

Education

Tags:

• atheism
• religion
• theism
• god
• morality
• liberty
• freedom
• individual
• ethics
• ideas
• truth
• philosophy
• arguments
• politics

[RaminHAL9001]

I curious to know your opinion as a libertarian on this: what should a society of virtuous, freedom-loving individuals do if they discover within their society individuals who enslave a large minority of the populace through religious indoctrination. Would it be OK to appeal to the majority views of morailty and use coercion to imprison the leadership and re-educate the populace, or would that violate the freedom of individuals of that minority collective?

[GStolyarovII]

In general, I do not believe in imposing coercion on individuals who do not themselves initiate force. This means that even egregiously wrong people -- whose ideas would have dangerous consequences if applied -- should not be suppressed *until and unless* they put their ideas into action.

I also think that advocates of true ideas *ought* to be able to argue them sufficiently well that, in a society where full intellectual freedom is permitted, the true ideas would win out over indoctrination.

[finallyfreethinking]

Well said!

[GStolyarovII]

Thank you!

[Elfie]

yo. i miss the napoleon club. what rank was i? oh, btw, this is eunice oh. and chang says "hi~" i heard u got married. that's crazy! why didn't invite me! fang, chang, and i are very disappointed. i expected front row seats! i miss u!!!