Common Sense Atheism

I've already mentioned a few atheism blogs that I'm a big fan of. Another of these Common Sense Atheism, written by Luke Muehlhauser.

There are a few things I especially like about CSA. Luke is always extremely rigorous and thorough, both when making his own arguments and picking apart opposing views. He's first and foremost a philosopher, which distinguishes his blog from many of the others out there that tend to focus more on science and current events. (He spends an enormous amount of time on the writings of thinker Eliezer Yudkowsky.) And while he covers a lot of pretty technical stuff, he generally explains it at a level that the lay person can understand.

Another thing I like is that Luke tends to be incredibly even-handed. If he thinks an atheist is wrong about something, he will not hesitate to say so. For example, he argues that some atheists are biased toward not wanting God to exist (although theists are in the same boat). He also says that atheists lose debates not only because they fail rhetorically, but because they make bad arguments and misunderstand the opposing position. I don't always agree with him, but I'd be hard pressed to accuse him of showing any significant bias.

I've been listening extensively to Luke's podcast Conversations from the Pale Blue Dot, in which he interviews a variety of philosophers and apologists on topics such as theology, science and morality. It's highly informative, and the discussion is always polite even when the viewpoints get ridiculous. Luke is also an advocate of an secular system of objective morality called desire utilitarianism (or desirism), and I'm currently listening to his other podcast, Morality in the Real World, covering that topic.

Sometimes I feel like CSA focuses a bit too much on abstract topics that are somewhat far removed from atheism-related subjects. Overall, though, I appreciate Luke's thoughtfulness and his ability to delve deeply into theological arguments within the accessible blog and podcast formats.