Again with the atheism

Continuing our theme of comprehensive analysis of a philosopher’s views from one brief article in the Saturday Age, this week we take a peek into the world of vastly popular French philosopher Michael Onfray.

It will probably not surprise you that I am going to disagree with a whole lot of what Mr Onfrey has to say. But I am pretty sure that if I ever met this dude, I would instantly take a very intense liking to the guy. Why? I suspect it’s this quote about why he wrote his latest book on atheism:

“When I went home, I checked my emails and saw that I had been sent some death threats. So I thought I may as well do something to really deserve them”

No matter how many things this guy says that annoy me, it’s just impossible not to love his attitude.

And now to a few things that impressed me less.

First this:
“Religions tell us we have to give up this life for another. They are telling us to up our desire, passions, pleasures- and that by doing so our existence in this world will make more sense, because the real sense of our life here below is the existence we will have once we are dead. What type of comfort is that? ‘Die while you are alive so you can be alive when you are dead?’”

When? When did religions say this? Was it any of the religions I am familiar with? Why wasn’t I told?

Frankly, if this dude had taken the time to reads my blog, I’m sure the 99 posts before this one could have suggested that I have no intention of ignoring the passions and pleasures of this life. I suppose I can accept that the most famous philosopher in France probably has a reasonable number of demands on his time and reading my blog is probably a fair way down on his list of priorities/ something he has never done and will never do.

However, if this man is planning to dismiss all religion, the least he could do is learn a bit about it first. One of my very favourite lines from the entire Bible is the bit where Jesus, talking about what he set out to achieve in life, announced that “I have come that you may have life, and life in all it’s fullness.”

I won’t try to speak for all religions, what with not even liking that term at all, but Christianity, at least, aims to make our lives on this planet more meaningful, not less.


And then there was this:
“When a soul collapses before the cold body of a loved one denial takes over and transforms this ending into a beginning.”

Followed by this:
“This is a swindle. We might have the impression that religions are doing us good, but it is by dint of a lie, a fiction, an extragavance.”

Says who? The fact that Michael Onfray has decided that death is a doorway to nothing at all whatsoever does not mean that he is right and everyone who believes otherwise is not only wrong but actually dishonest. Given that there’s really only one way to find out the answer to this one for sure, and as far as I can tell Michael Onfray is not and has never been dead, I have no idea why he feels such utter certainty on this one.


On the bright side, we have this:
“And to me, spirituality and religion are two different things. You can be an atheist and be interested in spirituality, which is my case.”

This is why I said I disagree with nearly everything that this guy says. On this point, Michael Onfray is absolutely right.


And finally, Michael Onfray was asked whether beautiful art and music and the like might provide a hint that maybe there is a God who is the source or inspiration for such wonderful things. Here’s his answer:

“And I think Bach would have existed without God; he would have been a musician anyway. He wouldn’t have composed oratorios and cantatas, but he would have done something else that would have been just as brilliant. Religion has acted as a structure, but if we change the structure, we will still have arts.”

This answer, if you read it a couple of times, boils down to “You don’t have to be a Christian to write good music”. Frankly, everyone knows that. The last 40 years of popular music would suggest that, if anything, the exact opposite is true, and being a Christian seems to make writing good music almost impossible.

My point here, more or less, is that Michael Onfray’s answer, while entirely correct, does not actually address the question. The world is too beautiful and magical a place to be something that just happened at random. To me, the beauty of this world is a signpost to something big and true and amazing.

It’s a question that deserves serious consideration, and a philosopher, of all people, should not be fudging the answer.