Atheism In Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

Throughout the world’s existence, religion has influenced the views of many people across the globe. Religion greatly influences people, whether they believe in miracles or they believe that their deity controls their unavoidable future. However, Atheism is the notion of someone who does not believe in the conceptions of religion or god in general. People who align with the idea of Atheism believe that most things transpire as a result of science. In Life of Pi written by Yann Martel, the main character Pi suffers the consequences of the sinking of Tsimtsum. There are two adaptations of Pi’s story of being stranded out in the ocean, in which each one caters to each side the religion spectrum. The first story utilizes animals as the characters

They believe that “the behavior of Atheists is subject to the same rules of sociology, psychology, and neurophysiology that govern the behavior of all members of our species, religionists included” (Zindler, “Ethics Without Gods.”). This means that they believe that all people behave and make the choices that they make because of themselves. This belief clashes with other religions’ belief that their deity influences and/or controls their behavior. They also believe that “Ethical behavior – regardless of who the practitioner may be – results always from the same causes and is regulated by the same forces, and has nothing to do with the presence or absence of religious belief” (Zindler, “Ethics Without Gods.”). This theory explains that everyone’s outcome is caused by the events and their reactions, which has nothing to do with their connection to a higher power. Through the lens of an Atheists, the second story displays this idea by having people kill each other. “He caught her by the wrist and twisted it. She shrieked and fell. He moved over her. The knife appeared. He raised it in the air. It came down. Next it was up--it was red. It went up and down repeatedly” (Martel 309). On the lifeboat, as a result of Pi not being able to hold on to a turtle, the cook got mad and hit both Pi and his mother. Then, the cook eventually killed Pi’s mother as a result of her fighting back.