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Richard Dawkins and the atheist bus
© Jon Worth / British Humanist Association
With that kind of cash sloshing around we're not just talking about one or two bendies either. 200 buses carrying the slightly hedge-betting (and actually agnostic rather than atheist) slogan "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" are rolling around the streets of London (plus another 600 across the country). From next Monday, 1,000 cards will arrive in tube carriages featuring the slogan and atheist quotations from people like Katharine Hepburn, Albert Einstein and the late lamented Douglas Adams. And if you manage to miss all that, head to Oxford Street: opposite Bond Street tube station you will see an animated version on two LCD screens.
The atheist / agnostic fervour is spreading internationally, too. Washington DC beat us to the punch with bus adverts in November, Barcelona buses have gone godless and Italy has plans up its sleeve too. Oh, for a photo of an atheist bus heading to the Vatican...
And what do the religious think of it all? Well, they're being very understanding. Turning the other cheek, almost. Think tank Theos say the campaign is "great discussion starter". We doubt there's going to be a return to theological debate, but there's certainly enough to spark the odd row down the pub.
If you see one of the ads don't forget to snap it and add it to our Flickr pool and tag it with 'londonist'...
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'There's probably no god' is a bit of soft get out isn't it and really with 140K to spend, it could have been used a lot more wisely.
Besides should the slogan be more like -
'There is definatly no god'
What is Douglas Adams quote?
cobo04 wrote: should the slogan be more like - 'There is definatly no god'
'There's probably no god' seems fine to me. If you have proof that no god exists, then please tell us all. Without proof, absolute denial is as bad as acceptance, I suggest.
Disagree. That's a hoary old argument. The onus of proof is on the proposer - i.e. if you think there's a God you need to show there is one, otherwise the logical position is not to believe. I suppose logically there might be an infinitesimally small chance of a God, though we have no evidence to suggest it, but it's on the same level as a host of other improbable things.
esotericbadger wrote: That's a hoary old argument [that, without proof, absolute denial is as bad as acceptance].
I agree that this argument has been well supported for a long time. However, it is incorrect to say that there is no evidence to suggest the idea that there is a god. Numerous expert witnesses provide supportive evidence, their arguments falling into more than a dozen broad categories. Arguments against the existence of god are fewer. There are also arguments about the validity of scientific proof about such matters, and differences in opinions about logical and philosophical approaches to the problem.
The idea that the onus of proof is on the proposer is hoary too, and counts Russell among its supporters. But believers tend to feel that they have sufficient proof. And, if someone proposes that god does not exist, then they have a similar onus of proof too. In science, theories are developed and are then tested experimentally. If a theory is later declared to be invalid, it is because there is evidence to show that the theory was incorrect. So it is not unreasonable to ask for proof from people who deny the existence of god, as well as from people who support the idea. As far as I am concerned, the jury is still out.
To steer this discussion back towards London, I wonder if a believer would be sacked for refusing to drive a bus carrying a slogan suggesting doubt of god's existence. And would that dismissal be judged as unfair and deserving financial compensation?
Douglas Adams: "Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?"
I miss him.
"the slightly hedge-betting (and actually agnostic rather than atheist) slogan"
But it's not agnostic at all! Agnosticism is not weak atheism (which I think is where you're coming from) it's something else entirely. The proper meaning of agnosticism is a position that we *cannot* know whether there is a deity or not. People have chosen to call themselves agnostics because they, personally, are not sure or don't care, but that's not quite the same thing.
Saying that there is 'probably no God' suggests that God's existence is something one can assign a probability to - i.e. we *can* make a judgment about it. Therefore, given it does come down on the 'probably not' side it's a weak atheist position rather than an agnostic one.
Anyway. Apparently the probably's only there to satisfy the advertising authorities - same as the Carlsberg slogan.