Defining atheism

DEFINING ATHEISM: Massimo Pigliucci differs in his view of the definition from that of Philosophy Talk podcast hosts John Perry and Ken Taylor, hence (via TDD):

The trouble starts right off the bat, when Perry defines atheism: “An atheist is someone who not only doesn't believe in God, but believes, with some confidence, that there isn’t a God.” Oh no, it ain’t! That certainly describes some atheists, but not others. I, for instance, tend to stick to the etymology of the term, a-theism, meaning without a positive belief in god(s), so I consider myself an a-theist in pretty much the same manner in which most people are a-unicornists: they don’t believe in unicorns, not because they know that there aren’t any, but simply because they see neither evidence nor reason to hold that particular belief.

In spite of my Facebook profile's view that I subscribe to a policy of agnosticism, I would now consider myself best-described an atheist. Perhaps Pigliucci puts it best when he says he prefers "to stick to the etymology of the term, a-theism, meaning without a positive belief in god(s)." Agreed. My view (at the moment, at least) is that there is insufficient evidence to support the idea of a deity, and therefore it's only reasonable to conclude that no such god exists. It's difficult to rule a line between that, however, and being agnostic. And then there's antitheism (cough...Christopher Hitchens...cough). Not sure that I'm ready to make the leap of changing my Facebook profile anytime soon, though; I'll just stick onboard the Good Ship Agnosticism for now.