Life without God

In this book, Rik Peels explores atheism from a new perspective that aims to go beyond the highly polarized debate about arguments for and against God's existence. Since our beliefs about the most important things in life are not usually based on arguments, we should look beyond atheistic arguments and explore what truly motivates the atheist. Are there certain ideals or experiences that explain the turn to atheism? Could atheism be the default position for us, not requiring any arguments whatsoever? And what about the often-discussed arguments against belief in God―is there something that religious and nonreligious people alike can learn from them? This book explores how a novel understanding of atheism is possible – and how it effectively moves the God debate further. Believers and nonbelievers can learn much from Peels's assessment of arguments for and against atheism.

Rik Peels is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology & Religion at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He is the author of Ignorance: A Philosophical Study (Oxford University Press, 2023) and Responsible Belief: A Theory in Ethics and Epistemology (Oxford University Press, 2017). He leads an international project on the epistemology and ethics of extreme beliefs.