Introducing Umlaut-Atheism (or Ätheism)
1. Mitchell's Background
1.1. I've always wanted a new symbol for atheism (ever since my inception of the a_toon community). I've always wanted to make atheism sound friendlier. If I wanted to scare people away from me when I explained my beliefs to them, I'd probably call myself a Satanist (referring to Levay Satanism, of course). I don't like scaring people and I don't like being scared myself. Perhaps that's why my mind wandered in this direction ...
1.2. I've always been very big on words (ever since I read "1984"). I became doubly interested in words after reading Nietzsche--the philosopher who undoubtedly influenced Mr. George Orwell's passion for words. Nietzsche also taught me the value of new beginnings, new teachings, new values, and new words. Only that which lacks history is definable (p453). The only certainty you're going to find is in what you create.
1.3. I wanted my creation to be easy to write -- as easy as the T symbol for christianity (aka alt+0134, or: †).
1.4. I wanted my symbol to represent a certain kind of atheism, the brand of which I most closely identify myself with, also known as "weak atheism".
1.5. And I wanted to be like my namesake who coined the word "agnostism" (T. H. Huxley). ;)
2. weak atheism
2.1. I've been arguing for the difference between weak atheism and strong atheism since July 22, 2002 (here's a post I made in the agnosticism community about it). Actually, no. I have a bookmarked conversation about weak and strong atheism from June 3, 2001, here.
2.2. I've since read about the distinction between weak and strong atheism (or implicit and explicit atheism) in the book "Atheism: The Case Against God," by George Smith (p7-24).
2.3. And most recently, I've argued for the distinction between the two in the convert_me commuinity here (with ibn_mikal), here (with nullibicitynow), here (with yellowmancan), and here (with caffeinebug).
2.4. Clearly this distinction is not catching on. Or if it is, it's catching on at a much slower rate than I'd expect. I hate repeating myself. Perhaps that's why I'm writing this today ...
5. If we combine complex ideals into a shortened word or phrase, that ideal will spread more quickly. Thus speaks the logic of advertising. And every ad needs a symbol. ;)
3. Ätheism
3.1. Thus, I bring you Ätheism (the special 'a' character can be made with alt+0196). Ätheism is synonymous with "weak atheism" also known as "agnostic atheism" also known as "implicit atheism" also known as "negetive atheism" also known as "passive atheism", and probably also known as a slew of other terms.
3.2. Why did I choose the umlaut (Ä) and not the grave accent (À), acute accent (Á), circumflex accent (Â), tilde (Ã), ring (Å), or dipthong (Æ)? There are 2 reasons. First, the umlaut generally means "a change ... caused by partial assimilation" (from http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=umlaut -- with poetic license). Meaning: Ätheism is a change from most people's conception of Atheism. But then again, that could be derived from any accented mark on a letter. ;)
3.3. The real reason I chose the umlaut was because you can draw a smiley-face out of an A by curving the horisonatal bar upwards a bit, and positioning the 2 dots in the right spot. But I've got some other bullshit reasons if you wanna hear 'em! :)
4. Bullshit Reasons
4.1. The umlaut is used mostly in German -- the language of Nietzsche.
4.2. The umlaut subtly mocks the christian conception of "devil horns" by transfering a symbol of "friendship" into those two little marks above the A's head.
4.3. The word "umlaut" can most easily be combined with the word "atheism" to create "umlaut-atheism", or perhaps even "Umlatheism"!
4.4. The two dots in the umlaut can be used to represent 2 something somethings -- the significance of which can be worked out later. For example, they can stand for my two favorite Atheists of all time: Carl Sagan and Fredrich Nietzsche! Or perhaps they can stand for my 2 favorite sentences from my 2 favorite Atheists (since they are _periods_ you know, so they should stand for sentences). (My favorite Sagan quote is: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." And my favorite Nietzsche quote is: "I am afraid we are not rid of God because we still have faith in grammar."
5. Artists Wanted
5.1. So ya, if anyone wants to draw up a graphic to represent Ätheism (made out of an upside-down V and a smiley-face), I'll consider using it as my new default-LJ-icon. :) I am rather fond of the banana-cross icon though, so unless it's really good I probably won't switch ... unless of course you merge the smiley-A with my banana somehow ... :) :) :)
5.2. Anywho, ya. I'll leave it at that, and start posting this everywhere.
cheers!
MITCHELL
1.1. I've always wanted a new symbol for atheism (ever since my inception of the a_toon community). I've always wanted to make atheism sound friendlier. If I wanted to scare people away from me when I explained my beliefs to them, I'd probably call myself a Satanist (referring to Levay Satanism, of course). I don't like scaring people and I don't like being scared myself. Perhaps that's why my mind wandered in this direction ...
1.2. I've always been very big on words (ever since I read "1984"). I became doubly interested in words after reading Nietzsche--the philosopher who undoubtedly influenced Mr. George Orwell's passion for words. Nietzsche also taught me the value of new beginnings, new teachings, new values, and new words. Only that which lacks history is definable (p453). The only certainty you're going to find is in what you create.
1.3. I wanted my creation to be easy to write -- as easy as the T symbol for christianity (aka alt+0134, or: †).
1.4. I wanted my symbol to represent a certain kind of atheism, the brand of which I most closely identify myself with, also known as "weak atheism".
1.5. And I wanted to be like my namesake who coined the word "agnostism" (T. H. Huxley). ;)
2. weak atheism
2.1. I've been arguing for the difference between weak atheism and strong atheism since July 22, 2002 (here's a post I made in the agnosticism community about it). Actually, no. I have a bookmarked conversation about weak and strong atheism from June 3, 2001, here.
2.2. I've since read about the distinction between weak and strong atheism (or implicit and explicit atheism) in the book "Atheism: The Case Against God," by George Smith (p7-24).
2.3. And most recently, I've argued for the distinction between the two in the convert_me commuinity here (with ibn_mikal), here (with nullibicitynow), here (with yellowmancan), and here (with caffeinebug).
2.4. Clearly this distinction is not catching on. Or if it is, it's catching on at a much slower rate than I'd expect. I hate repeating myself. Perhaps that's why I'm writing this today ...
5. If we combine complex ideals into a shortened word or phrase, that ideal will spread more quickly. Thus speaks the logic of advertising. And every ad needs a symbol. ;)
3. Ätheism
3.1. Thus, I bring you Ätheism (the special 'a' character can be made with alt+0196). Ätheism is synonymous with "weak atheism" also known as "agnostic atheism" also known as "implicit atheism" also known as "negetive atheism" also known as "passive atheism", and probably also known as a slew of other terms.
3.2. Why did I choose the umlaut (Ä) and not the grave accent (À), acute accent (Á), circumflex accent (Â), tilde (Ã), ring (Å), or dipthong (Æ)? There are 2 reasons. First, the umlaut generally means "a change ... caused by partial assimilation" (from http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=umlaut -- with poetic license). Meaning: Ätheism is a change from most people's conception of Atheism. But then again, that could be derived from any accented mark on a letter. ;)
3.3. The real reason I chose the umlaut was because you can draw a smiley-face out of an A by curving the horisonatal bar upwards a bit, and positioning the 2 dots in the right spot. But I've got some other bullshit reasons if you wanna hear 'em! :)
4. Bullshit Reasons
4.1. The umlaut is used mostly in German -- the language of Nietzsche.
4.2. The umlaut subtly mocks the christian conception of "devil horns" by transfering a symbol of "friendship" into those two little marks above the A's head.
4.3. The word "umlaut" can most easily be combined with the word "atheism" to create "umlaut-atheism", or perhaps even "Umlatheism"!
4.4. The two dots in the umlaut can be used to represent 2 something somethings -- the significance of which can be worked out later. For example, they can stand for my two favorite Atheists of all time: Carl Sagan and Fredrich Nietzsche! Or perhaps they can stand for my 2 favorite sentences from my 2 favorite Atheists (since they are _periods_ you know, so they should stand for sentences). (My favorite Sagan quote is: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." And my favorite Nietzsche quote is: "I am afraid we are not rid of God because we still have faith in grammar."
5. Artists Wanted
5.1. So ya, if anyone wants to draw up a graphic to represent Ätheism (made out of an upside-down V and a smiley-face), I'll consider using it as my new default-LJ-icon. :) I am rather fond of the banana-cross icon though, so unless it's really good I probably won't switch ... unless of course you merge the smiley-A with my banana somehow ... :) :) :)
5.2. Anywho, ya. I'll leave it at that, and start posting this everywhere.
cheers!
MITCHELL