Atheist's wager

The Atheist's wager , coined by the philosopher Michael Martin and published in his 1990 book Atheism: A Philosophical Justification , is an atheistic response to Pascal's wager regarding the existence of God . ^[1]

One version of the Atheist's wager suggests that since a kind and loving god would reward good deeds ? and that if no gods exist, good deeds would still leave a positive legacy ? one should live a good life without religion. ^[2]^[3] Another formulation suggests that a god may reward honest disbelief and punish a dishonest belief in the divine. ^[4]

Explanation [ edit ]

Martin's wager states that if one were to analyze their options in regard to how to live their life, they would arrive at the following possibilities: ^[2]^[5]

You may live a good life and believe in a god, and a benevolent god exists, in which case you go to heaven: your gain is infinite.
You may live a good life without believing in a god, and a benevolent god exists, in which case you go to heaven: your gain is infinite.
You may live a good life and believe in a god, but no benevolent god exists, in which case you leave a positive legacy to the world; your gain is finite.
You may live a good life without believing in a god, and no benevolent god exists, in which case you leave a positive legacy to the world; your gain is finite.
You may live an evil life and believe in a god, and a benevolent god exists, in which case you go to hell: your loss is infinite.
You may live an evil life without believing in a god, and a benevolent god exists, in which case you go to hell: your loss is infinite.
You may live an evil life and believe in a god, but no benevolent god exists, in which case you leave a negative legacy to the world; your loss is finite.
You may live an evil life without believing in a god, and no benevolent god exists, in which case you leave a negative legacy to the world; your loss is finite.

The following table shows the values assigned to each possible outcome:

	A benevolent god exists		No benevolent god exists
	Belief in god (B)	No belief in god (￢B)	Belief in god (B)	No belief in god (￢B)
Good life (L)	+∞ (heaven)	+∞ (heaven)	+X (positive legacy)	+X (positive legacy)
Evil life (￢L)	?∞ (hell)	?∞ (hell)	?X (negative legacy)	?X (negative legacy)

Given these values, Martin argues that the option to live a good life clearly dominates the option of living an evil life, regardless of belief in a god. Whether one believes in god has no effect on the outcome.

References [ edit ]

^ Oppy, Graham (2019). A Companion to Atheism and Philosophy (First ed.). Wiley . p. 221. ISBN 978-1-119-11918-0 .
^ ^a ^b Martin, Michael (1990). Atheism: A Philosophical Justification . Temple University Press . pp. 232?238 . ISBN 978-0-8772-2642-0 .
^ Berry, Alvin F. (2011). So What If...the God of the Bible Exists...Does It Really Matter at the End ... Dog Ear Publishing. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-457-50020-6 .
^ Stahl, Philip A. (2007). Atheism: A Beginner's Handbook: All You Wanted to Know About Atheism and Why . iUniverse. pp. 39?42. ISBN 978-0-5954-2737-6 .
^ Martin, Michael (1983). "Pascal's Wager as an Argument for Not Believing in God" . Religious Studies . 19 : 57?64. doi : 10.1017/S0034412500014700 . S2CID 170450896 .

[1] Oppy, Graham (2019). A Companion to Atheism and Philosophy (First ed.). Wiley . p. 221. ISBN 978-1-119-11918-0 .

[martin-2] Martin, Michael (1990). Atheism: A Philosophical Justification . Temple University Press . pp. 232?238 . ISBN 978-0-8772-2642-0 .

[3] Berry, Alvin F. (2011). So What If...the God of the Bible Exists...Does It Really Matter at the End ... Dog Ear Publishing. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-457-50020-6 .

[beginner-4] Stahl, Philip A. (2007). Atheism: A Beginner's Handbook: All You Wanted to Know About Atheism and Why . iUniverse. pp. 39?42. ISBN 978-0-5954-2737-6 .

[essay-5] Martin, Michael (1983). "Pascal's Wager as an Argument for Not Believing in God" . Religious Studies . 19 : 57?64. doi : 10.1017/S0034412500014700 . S2CID 170450896 .

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