Where have you been? The internet is CRAWLING with idiots who gab endlessly about how Classic Rock is the best form of music EVAR and everything today sucks.

Of course, I love building onto my physical collection. I'm getting into vinyl now too.

Prog, Folk, Symph, Avant-Garde, and Thrash.

In the case of atheism, I believe that simply following the morphology to derive the meaning leaves out possible connotations (which are connotations only because they arent included in the morphology of the word).

Of course the word atheism (and atheist and any related term) is a term which has many uses (a technical definition, a colloquial definition and so on) so the use based on morphology isnt necessarily excluded. Personally, I would much rather a definition though to be justified through testimonies of actual use by people, than morphology, because in the end, that way of deriving meaning comes close to being an ad hoc solution which cant really be indicative or trustworthy as a whole.

Also words dont always form exact counterparts simply by adding the a- prefix. For instance in my language when the word for "powerful"/"strong" gets the "a-" prefix, it means "impossible/improbable" or "thin"/"skinny", and definitely not "not powerful"/"weak". And its not an exception.

Lastly I find notions such as "theism" and "atheism" to be quite complex, so I dont think morphology could "capture" all the meaning inside it (unless I am being too technical with the definitions themselves).

Teenaged

I kind of agree, now that I'm thinking of it. There are exceptions, but when it comes to defining atheism, I strive to be practical. Hence I commonly make the 'Agnostic Atheist' distinction. While there are vast nuances to the beliefs themselves, it's most constructive to simplify terminology and not clutter up what can be conveyed in fewer words. To define Theism as a belief in a transcendent deity or deities, and Atheism as no belief in a transcendent deity or deities is efficient and satisfactory for generalizing the words' potential intent. Adding Gnostic or Agnostic clarify the degree to which their intent applies to the belief(or non-belief)-holder(s). In this conversation, it is far too easy for quarrels to erupt over what should be a non-issue. Defining atheism as an assertion of there being no gods is like saying all theists claim to know for certain there is a God, which is obviously not the case. Therefore, the definitions I have outlined and repeatedly employed are most practical. In language, that's pretty much the bullseye: Does this word adequately transmit the intent I'm communicating?

Sorry, may I intervene?

Teenaged

While I sort of grasp the essence of what you're saying, for the word Atheism, it's plausibly defined based on morphology. The intent of the word can mean nothing else than 'without god'. Because it's counterpart, 'Theist' means with god, or belief as opposed to none, denoted by the 'a'. Maybe I'm not getting what you mean. It can be, at times, incorrect to assume a definition based on morphology or etymology, but in this case I literally cannot fathom why the word would even exist if it did not mean what I'm currently defining it as.

Which technically wasn't the case until about a year ago when all the new-age philosophers rewrote what the words actually mean't. Curse you new-age philosophers and your propensity to rewrite stuff.Vandalvideo

I'm pretty sure based on the etymology of 'Atheism' alone, it has always meant without god, a lack of belief in god(s). Much like typical and atypical, I can't see the word meaning anything else. The terms Gnostic and Agnostic have been used in the manner I described for ages as well.

please explain :)escapeoftheape

Atheism is the rejection of positive religious claims, its essence is that of disbelief in a deity or deities. If you have no belief in deities and do not claim there aren't any, you are an Agnostic Atheist. If you claim to know there are none, you are a Gnostic Atheist. Agnosticism is a philosophical perspective which asserts that deities are not knowable, for whatever reason. I am not of that opinion.

I'm an Agnostic Atheist.

Times like this I wish monster trucks were street legal. /sighSeraphimGoddess

In a perfect world . . . they'd also have sex-toy-attached seats.

Am I getting too adult this morning? I better read up on my Terms of Use. *reads* Well, damn, I violate that all the time.

It's not like fat chicks are gonna wander around naked, they're usually far too self conscious for it,

freek666

Apparently you've never met me.