Abstract
The New Atheists are occasionally accused of lacking nuance and sophistication, or of existing in an intellectual vacuum. To some it may seem that Dawkins et al. are naïve logical positivists; this perspective may be reinforced by recent authors’ explicit rejection of the value of philosophy and other non-scientific approaches to knowledge (cf. Lawrence Krauss, Stephen Hawking). Into the fray steps Michael Palmer, offering his attempt to popularise a version of atheism that is underpinned by a long tradition of philosophical inquiry. The Atheist’s Primer, a condensed version of Palmer’s previous work, is aptly named: it is a crash course on the history and major arguments of atheism from a firmly philosophical angle. Its companion text, Atheism For Beginners, is a coursebook aimed at tutors seeking to teach this material.