Atheism

=== Epistemological arguments ===

[[Skepticism]], based on the ideas of [[David Hume]], asserts that certainty about anything is impossible, so one can never know for sure whether or not a god exists. Hume, however, held that such unobservable metaphysical concepts should be rejected as "sophistry and illusion".<ref name="hume-metaphysics" />

Michael Martin argues that atheism is a justified and rational true belief, but offers no extended epistemological justification because current theories are in a state of controversy. Martin instead argues for "mid-level principles of justification that are in accord with our ordinary and scientific rational practice."<ref name="Michael Martin">{{cite book |last1=Martin |first1=Michael |title=Atheism: A Philosophical Justification |date=1992 |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=9780877229438 |page=26}}</ref>

Other arguments for atheism that can be classified as epistemological or [[ontology|ontological]], assert the meaninglessness or unintelligibility of basic terms such as "God" and statements such as "God is all-powerful." [[Theological noncognitivism]] holds that the statement "God exists" does not express a proposition, but is nonsensical or cognitively meaningless. It has been argued both ways as to whether such individuals can be classified into some form of atheism or agnosticism. Philosophers [[Alfred Ayer|A. J. Ayer]] and [[Theodore M. Drange]] reject both categories, stating that both camps accept "God exists" as a proposition; they instead place noncognitivism in its own category.<ref>[[Theodore Drange|Drange, Theodore M.]] (1998). "[http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/theodore_drange/definition.html Atheism, Agnosticism, Noncognitivism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723234754/http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/theodore_drange/definition.html |date=23 July 2013 }}". [[Internet Infidels]], ''Secular Web Library''. Retrieved 2007-APR-07.</ref><ref>[[Alfred Ayer|Ayer, A. J.]] (1946). ''Language, Truth and Logic''. Dover. pp. 115–116. In a footnote, Ayer attributes this view to "Professor H.H. Price".</ref>