Freud and other atheists who changed the world

The relationship between man and God or the total absence thereof has been an issue that has generated many of the most beautiful stories or the most bitter controversies since ancient times. Usually People often call themselves atheists, agnostics or believers if we ask them about the idea of ​​God.

This idea has been defined and spread by the majority of monotheistic religions in the world, it has permeated millions of people and a large number of societies are organized around it. Sometimes skepticism regarding religious elements goes further and not only this idea of ​​deity is denied but also other intuitive or energetic ideas such as the Law of Karma or the Law of Attraction.

Being an atheist does not make you a better or worse person.

We could say that regardless of whether you have received a religious education or not, There are people who are “disbelievers” and others who are not., as the great actor Fernando Fernán Gómez stated. What is a fact is that this belief in itself does not make your life better or worse, since other types of variables determine our history and our relationships.

Despite this, a recent experiment designed by Jean Decety, a neuroscientist and psychologist at the University of Chicago with children between 5 and 12 years old in six very culturally diverse countries (Canada, the United States, Jordan, Turkey, South Africa and China), it was found that Schoolchildren who do not receive religious values ​​in their family are more generous when it comes to sharing their treasures with other children they do not know. Curious to say the least.

But without going into a deep assessment of what is more convenient to believe or not, since there is no clear answer for that, it is still interesting to know how Throughout history, numerous figures have defined themselves as atheists and have done so with firmness and conviction, even at the risk of suffering reprisals.. They have simply expressed their beliefs freely and their way of perceiving human and social relationships from a radically different prism.

Let’s look at some of the most famous and controversial atheists:

Ayn Rand

On many occasions, Marxist thought is related to the most antagonistic way of understanding society with respect to that proposed by religion. The creator of “objectivism” opposes both positions, defending that for anyone who aspires to be someone different taking ideas like religion or communism are disastrous.

Ayn Rand exposes an agnostic neoliberal philosophy which has been very well accepted by some intellectual and artistic circles, who missed this individualist ideology being explained in a more profound way. Although he contradicted himself throughout his life on some social and political issues, what he always maintained was his atheism until his death.

Albert Einstein

If there is a personality questioned as to whether or not he held the idea of ​​God, it is that of this well-known scientist and author of the Theory of Relativity. Einstein was a convinced atheist, although in reality he declared himself publicly agnostic.trying to overcome academic enmities.

He was not at all interested in religion and for him the concept of God was not central either in his theory or in his life. In one of his statements and responding to his enormous interest in knowing his opinion on this issue.

Einstein explained that for him, if God existed, he would be very similar to the one described by Spinoza: an extensive God without a dualistic nature. which totally contradicts the conventional idea accepted by the majority of people who follow a monotheistic religion.

Hypatia of Alexandria

Hypatia was probably the most important philosopher of antiquity, along with Aspasia and Hipparchy.. His figure has been relegated to ostracism due to the concealment of his enormous influence on the history of different sciences that were still being born. It was her status as a woman and her agnostic that caused this event.

He was not a person committed to the religious events that occurred in his city and that would lead to his horrible murder. by a religious hierarchy. A hierarchy that saw their knowledge of mathematics, astronomy or philosophy as an enemy they feared. Unfortunately his death was a prelude to the religious control that existed in the Middle Ages.

Karl Marx

Karl Marx was a German intellectual of Jewish origin who, together with Friedrich Engels, founded scientific socialism, modern communism, Marxism and historical materialism.. The work of this thinker is impossible to synthesize, but what is clear is that he frontally rejected the idea of ​​God, religion and the existence of social classes.

Although a priori these ideas may not seem related, in their development they find their logic and perfect coherence: To be freer, a society must try to be as egalitarian and fair as possible, something that is achieved through action and social reason.. If we abandon that reason and surrender to ideals such as those of God or money as ways to solve problems, society and its organization are left adrift.

Sigmund Freud

Currently, in the world of psychology; The figure of Sigmund Freud is revered and hated in equal parts. Some others take an intermediate attitude towards this controversial neurologist and recognize the work he carried out in his time, but think that his weight in current psychiatry is totally disproportionate, taking into account that only a tiny part of his theory has found scientific support. .

In this way, we could define Freud as a lover of the study of human beings, someone in permanent search for the reasons for the complex behavior of adults, stubborn with giving a global and beautiful explanation of our most intimate and subjective plane.

In that subjective area, For Freud, the idea of ​​God had no place in explaining complex human relationships and represented a setback in maturity. and the commitment of each individual. For him, it thus constituted a personal failure to provide truly satisfactory and useful answers to the enigmas of our own history.

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