Purism: An Ontological Proof for The Impossibility of God

Secular Studies 2 (2):160-178 (2020)
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Abstract

This article presents an ontological proof that God is impossible.I define an ‘impossibility’ as a condition which is inconceivable due to its a priori characteristics (e.g. a ‘square circle’). Accordingly, said conditions will not ever become conceivable, as they could in instances of a posteriori inconceivability (e.g. the notion that someone could touch a star without being burned). As the basis of this argument, I refer to an a priori observation (Primus, 2019) regarding our inability to imagine inconsistency (difference) within any point of space. This observation renders the notion of absolute power to be inconceivable, a priori.I briefly discuss the moral implications of religious faith in the context of Purism: a moral rationalist paradigm. I conclude that whilst belief in God can be aesthetically expressed it should not be possessed as a material purpose, due to the illogicality of the latter category of belief and/or expression. With this article I provide conceptual delineation between harmless religious belief and expression—which, I argue, should be protected from persecution, as per any other artistic expression— and religious belief and expression which is materially harmful to society. Whilst I aim to protect religious freedom of expression on one hand, I duly aim to reduce instances of material faith in God(s) on the other. Finally, I aim to bring hope in the possibility for human salvation via technology—such that they should exist indefinitely as ‘demigods,’ defined by conditional, relative power over their environment.

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Citations of this work

Purism: Logic as the Basis of Morality.* Primus - 2021 - Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism 29:1-36.
Purism: Desire as the Ultimate Value, Part Two An Appeal to Intuition. Primus - 2023 - Philosophical Papers and Review 11 (2):15-34.

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References found in this work

An apology for the “New Atheism”.Andrew Johnson - 2013 - International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 73 (1):5-28.
Purism: Logic as the Basis of Morality.* Primus - 2021 - Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism 29:1-36.

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