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<\/a><\/div>\nAfter reading \u201cWhat Atheists and Republican Strategists Have in Common<\/a>.\u201d one anonymous commenter took issue with my assumption that popular atheists try to act as philosophers.<\/p>\n It\u2019s true that there are tough discussions that need to be had, but I think you give the average atheist \u2013 even the average outspoken atheist \u2013 too much credit. You\u2019re a bit too quick to discount the possibility that many atheists really don\u2019t have any philosophy because they\u2019ve never had any curiosity about philosophical differences. Hemant Mehta, Greta Christina, and so on do not strike me as people who\u2019ve ever taken an interest in even taking an intro philosophy course. These are bloggers, not philosophers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So it\u2019s true that atheists only have their lack of belief in god in common. Some are interested in separation of church and state and don\u2019t give a wit about arguments for atheism, or what kinds of views atheists might have about moral philosophy or metaphysics. Some are the exact opposite \u2013 they\u2019re interested in arguing for atheism against believers but don\u2019t give a wit about separation of church and state.<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s entirely reasonable, particularly in culture war-America, for atheists to be troubled by church-state conflicts and focus their efforts there. And plenty of legal questions about religions are<\/em> entirely divorced from the question of God\u2019s existence and metaphysics generally, so the philosophical ignorance or silence of political atheists is not a barrier to their goals. I\u2019ll be the first to admit that I benefit from their work, and I\u2019ve engaged in and continue to work on similar projects.<\/p>\n But right now, what I\u2019m looking for is arguments about atheist philosophy<\/strong>, and there I\u2019m having trouble finding reading material. I\u2019ll be posting a response to my latest read <\/em>Spiritual Atheism<\/a> by Steve Antinoff tomorrow (go ahead, take another look at the title and then take a guess as to whether I liked it), and I\u2019m always up for book suggestions, but I\u2019d love to be able to add some more blogs to my roster.<\/p>\n A lot of the Catholic blogs I\u2019ve been following spend a lot of time on ethical case studies drawn from the authors\u2019 day to day lives. They connect these experiences back to their faith and philosophy, using the specific to illuminate the transcendent. Plus, the blogging format allows a lot of discussion and talkback. I\u2019d like to be able to find atheists who write in something approaching this vein. Any suggestions? Pulling off the above technique is a major goal for me when I\u2019m writing this blog, so if you have any feedback for me on that front, I\u2019d love to hear it.<\/p>\n Currently, the most ethically oriented blog I read is Common Sense Atheism<\/a> which promotes a philosophy called \u2018desirism<\/a>,\u2019 of which I\u2019ll confess I still don\u2019t have a solid understanding. I\u2019ve also bookmarked this essay<\/a> by Ebonmuse of Daylight Atheism<\/a>, which I plan to write a response to at some point in the future.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n So that\u2019s where I am. Where should I go?<\/strong><\/p>\n P.S. And to forestall the obvious: I\u2019ve got Sam Harris\u2019s The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values<\/a><\/em> on my nightstand and hope to have a response post up next Sunday.<\/p>\n