53 Introduction Atheism is the denial or lack of belief in a god. Atheism took root particularly during the Age of Enlightenment. René Descartes (1596–1650), frequently called the founder of modern philosophy, played a crucial role in how this ideology took hold. He aimed to provide a philosophical framework for the presence of God, yet this extreme focus on reason and skepticism unintentionally aided in the development of contemporary atheism. His epistemological approach, which prioritized reason and empirical evidence and was typified by methodical skepticism and the cogito argument (Cogito, ergo sum, or “I think, therefore I am”)32, transformed Western thinking. Despite his theistic objectives, the intellectual instruments he created made it possible for succeeding thinkers to contest and even reject theistic ideas. This essay explores Descartes’ epistemology, examining how his views on reason, dualism, and the mechanistic understanding of nature contributed to a secular outlook that ultimately influenced the emergence of modern atheism. Context Galileo’s work on Copernican theory significantly impacted Descartes’ philosophical investigation of how humans see the cosmos. Galileo challenged the Catholic Church’s geocentric doctrine, claiming that his astronomical discoveries proved that the Earth is not the center of the universe.33 He maintained that biblical verses like Joshua 10:12 should be viewed as metaphorical rather than taken literally in relation to astronomical assertions. This nonliteral approach makes for a more logical reading of scripture possible, consistent with Augustine’s interpretation of Genesis.34 According to Carriero and Broughton, “when scripture seems to make a claim regarding celestial events, and this pertains to a matter that is still up for debate, but may ultimately be ‘proven by sense experience and required proofs,’ then we should not interpret scripture overly literally on this point, on pain of making scripture look foolish.”35 Descartes, who respected Galileo's acceptance of uncertainty in the search for truth, found great resonance in this empirical reasoning and logical discourse. He thus came to see human experiences of doubt as essential to the path of philosophy leading to certainty. 34 Augustine, The Literal Meaning of Genesis, trans. John Hammond Taylor, vol. 2 (New York: Newman Press, 1982), 73. 35 Janet Broughton and John Carriero, eds., A Companion to Descartes (Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008), 203. 33 Galileo Galilei, Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina, trans. Maurice A. Finocchiaro (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), 67–68. 32 René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, trans. John Cottingham (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), Meditation II, 17. Atheism: Varieties of Belief, Disbelief and Unbelief Van Thuc SVD
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