Perhaps it’s not worth complaining, but historically “rationalist” was contrasted with “empiricist.” Descartes, Leibniz, and Spinoza were rationalists, while Locke and Hume were empiricists. Obviously that’s not a contrast you mean to be invoking, though maybe that use of “rationalist” is rare enough that there’s no risk of confusion.
Daniel
Karma: 19
- DanielFeb 27, 2009, 4:28 AM8 pointsAFin reply to: Eliezer Yudkowsky’s comment on: Tell Your Rationalist Origin Story
Georges Ray has defended a position he calls “Meta-Atheism.” He believes that just about nobody who says they believe in God actually does, for reasons somewhat like the ones Eliezer mentions. I highly recommend checking it out. Here’s a link: http://stairs.umd.edu/236/meta-atheism.html