At first glance, atheism seems simple to define. If atheism is the negation of theism, and if theism is the view that at least one god exists, then atheism is the negation of this view. However, the common definitions that follow from this insight suffer from two problems: first, they often leave undefined what “god” means, and, second, they understate the scope of the disagreement between theists and atheists, which often has as much to do with the fundamental character of reality as with the existence of one being in it. Some writers address the second problem by reinterpreting atheism as the logical consequence of particular metaphysical views, such as naturalism or physicalism, which are then taken as the true meaning of atheism. These interpretations, though more satisfactory in some respects, can result in concepts of atheism that are unclear or too narrow, and they often still leave “god” undefined. In this paper, I propose that atheism be defined as the proposition that reality is solely an impersonal order. Theism is the proposition that reality is not solely an impersonal order, being either a personal order, that is, an order founded by at least one person, or an impersonal order plus at least one transcendent person. A god is a person who is not subject to the laws governing that order and thus transcends it. I explain these definitions and briefly discuss some of their implications. First I survey prior definitions of atheism to display the problems they raise.

中文翻译：

---

定义无神论、有神论和上帝

乍一看，无神论似乎很容易定义。如果无神论是对有神论的否定，如果有神论是至少有一个神存在的观点，那么无神论就是对这一观点的否定。然而，根据这一见解得出的常见定义存在两个问题：首先，他们经常没有定义“上帝”的含义，其次，他们低估了有神论者和无神论者之间分歧的范围，这通常有很多事情要做。具有现实的基本特征，就像存在于其中一样。一些作家通过将无神论重新解释为特定形而上学观点（例如自然主义或物理主义）的逻辑结果来解决第二个问题，然后将其视为无神论的真正含义。这些解释虽然在某些方面更令人满意，可能会导致无神论的概念不明确或过于狭隘，而且它们通常仍然没有定义“上帝”。在本文中，我建议将无神论定义为现实只是一种非个人秩序的命题。有神论是这样的命题，即现实不仅是一种非人格化的秩序，它要么是一种人格化的秩序，即由至少一个人建立的秩序，要么是一种非人格化的秩序加上至少一个超然的人。神是不受支配该秩序的法律并因此超越它的人。我解释了这些定义并简要讨论了它们的一些含义。首先，我调查了无神论的先前定义以显示它们提出的问题。有神论是这样的命题，即现实不仅是一种非人格化的秩序，它要么是一种人格化的秩序，即由至少一个人建立的秩序，要么是一种非人格化的秩序加上至少一个超然的人。神是不受支配该秩序的法律并因此超越它的人。我解释了这些定义并简要讨论了它们的一些含义。首先，我调查了无神论的先前定义以显示它们提出的问题。有神论是这样的命题，即现实不仅是一种非人格化的秩序，它要么是一种人格化的秩序，即由至少一个人建立的秩序，要么是一种非人格化的秩序加上至少一个超然的人。神是不受支配该秩序的法律并因此超越它的人。我解释了这些定义并简要讨论了它们的一些含义。首先，我调查了无神论的先前定义以显示它们提出的问题。