--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many of the innovations in science and…" description: "\"“Many of the innovations in science and philosophy have come from unbelievers, some of whom died for their 'unbeliefs.' Without unbelief, we might well..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/gordon-stein-47934_atheism_many-of-the-innovations-in-science-and-p_150524.png" --- # Many of the innovations in science and philosophy have… ![“Many of the innovations in science and philosophy have come from unbelievers, some of whom died for their 'unbeliefs.' Without unbelief, we might well be living in the Dark Ages or at least in the intellectual equivalent of that time. In past centuries many theists savagely attacked atheists on…” quote by Gordon Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/gordon-stein-47934_atheism_many-of-the-innovations-in-science-and-p_150524.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/gordon-stein-47934_atheism_many-of-the-innovations-in-science-and-p_150524.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/gordon-stein-47934_atheism_many-of-the-innovations-in-science-and-p_150524.png) > ““Many of the innovations in science and philosophy have come from unbelievers, some of whom died for their 'unbeliefs.' Without unbelief, we might well be living in the Dark Ages or at least in the intellectual equivalent of that time. In past centuries many theists savagely attacked atheists on the ground that someone without a belief in God must be a moral 'monster,' who would permit any action. This argument is rarely heard today, as the number of people who are openly atheists has become so large that its falsity is self-evident. Atheists do have a moral code to guide them. It is usually based upon the Golden Rule, plus a variety of utilitarian reasons, although there are a number of other possible systems. Rather than being immoral, most atheists are extremely moral. There are a large number of people who can and do manage to lead decent upright lives with no use for a belief in God as a guide. Atheists do not care whether others believe as they do. They do ask, however, for the right to believe as they wish …”” [Gordon Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-stein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that unbelief drives scientific progress, that atheists can be moral, and that belief freedom is essential. **In simple terms:** Unbelief fuels innovation; morality isn’t tied to religion. Key Takeaway Respect freedom of belief and moral diversity. Themes philosophy science atheism Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical informational When to use this quote - academic discourse - public policy - ethical debates Key Concepts moral philosophy freedom of belief intellectual history Questions to Reflect On - How does society benefit from diverse beliefs? - What safeguards protect belief freedom? A Different Perspective Moral arguments can be culturally contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Belief in god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-in-god/) [Dark ages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-ages/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Golden rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golden-rule/) [Inquiry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inquiry/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral code](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-code/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science and philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-and-philosophy/) [Unbelief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbelief/) [Unbelievers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbelievers/) [Utilitarianism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utilitarianism/) ## Related quotes > [There are a large number of people who can and do manage to lead decent upright lives with no use for a belief in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-stein/there-are-a-large-number-of-people-who-can-and-do-manage-to-lead/) [Gordon Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-stein/) > [Still, even the most admirable of atheists is nothing more than a moral parasite, living his life based on borrowed ethics. This is why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-beale/still-even-the-most-admirable-of-atheists-is-nothing-more-than-a/) [Theodore Beale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-beale/) > [Today, I think, the state of philosophizing about democracy is very healthy. It bridges political science and philosophy, as it should.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/today-i-think-the-state-of-philosophizing-about-democracy-is-very/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [All our science and philosophy form only an island of knowledge surrounded by an ocean of mystery. The larger the island grows, the longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-washington-sockman/all-our-science-and-philosophy-form-only-an-island-of-knowledge/) [Ralph Washington Sockman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-washington-sockman/) > [Subjective reason ... is inclined to abandon the fight with religion by setting up two different brackets, one for science and philosophy, and one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-horkheimer/subjective-reason-is-inclined-to-abandon-the-fight-with-religion-by/) [Max Horkheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-horkheimer/) > [“This translation movement, during the course of which almost all non-literary and non-historical secular Greek works on science and philosophy were translated upon demand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimitri-gutas/this-translation-movement-during-the-course-of-which-almost-all-non/) [Dimitri Gutas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimitri-gutas/) > [For a long time it has been known that the first systems of representations with which men have pictured to themselves the world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/for-a-long-time-it-has-been-known-that-the-first-systems-of/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [For good people to do evil things, it takes religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/for-good-people-to-do-evil-things-it-takes-religion/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [“Babies hold a secret about the human mind that has been hidden for millennia. They are our double. They have a primordial drive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-r-garrels/babies-hold-a-secret-about-the-human-mind-that-has-been-hidden-for/) [Scott R. Garrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-r-garrels/) > [It's sort of another innovation, probably a good innovation, of Western culture to separate the ideas between science and philosophy, but it's important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/it-s-sort-of-another-innovation-probably-a-good-innovation-of-western/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [“I like religion and art because they know they are servants to life; I hate science and philosophy because they think they are its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/i-like-religion-and-art-because-they-know-they-are-servants-to-life-i/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [My research career has been devoted to understanding human decision-making and problem-solving processes. The pursuit of this goal has led me into the fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-a-simon/my-research-career-has-been-devoted-to-understanding-human-decision/) [Herbert A. Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-a-simon/) > [Geometry is one of the handles of science and philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xenocrates/geometry-is-one-of-the-handles-of-science-and-philosophy/) [Xenocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xenocrates/) > [With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/with-or-without-religion-you-would-have-good-people-doing-good-things/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [“When the organization called soul is free, moving and operative, initial as well as terminal, it is spirit. Qualities are both static, substantial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/when-the-organization-called-soul-is-free-moving-and-operative/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) ## More by Gordon Stein > [“Obviously, if theism is a belief in a God and atheism is a lack of a belief in a God, no third position or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-stein/obviously-if-theism-is-a-belief-in-a-god-and-atheism-is-a-lack-of-a/) [Gordon Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-stein/) > [We should always keep an open mind about any new phenomenon in nature. 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When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. 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Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? 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Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) [Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Many of the innovations in science and philosophy have come from unbelievers, some of whom died for their 'unbeliefs.' Without unbelief, we might well be living in the Dark Ages or at least in the intellectual equivalent of that time. In past centuries many theists savagely attacked atheists on the ground that someone without a belief in God must be a moral 'monster,' who would permit any action. This argument is rarely heard today, as the number of people who are openly atheists has become so large that its falsity is self-evident. Atheists do have a moral code to guide them. It is usually based upon the Golden Rule, plus a variety of utilitarian reasons, although there are a number of other possible systems. Rather than being immoral, most atheists are extremely moral. There are a large number of people who can and do manage to lead decent upright lives with no use for a belief in God as a guide. Atheists do not care whether others believe as they do. 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