Atheistic Deism (also called Natural Idealism) is a type of Deism that holds "God" exists as what is called the Prime Observer and thus holds the world in existence. However it also holds that while the world is contingent on God it is not created by God but rather is an epiphenomenon, or unintentional by-product, of God that is without purpose. It also holds that, as the Prime Observer, God is neither omnipotent or omniscient and thus has no powers of intervention as maintained by Theistic religions.

The paradox of nothingness is the basic argument for Atheistic Deism (which is itself a form of philosophical idealism). It basically says that if the world is logical it must have a logical reason for being. Because absolute nothingness, defined logically by putting the copula (the linking words between subject and predicate in a sentence) "is not" in front of "being as a whole", is itself a concept, which is something, it is self-contradictory and unstable. That is absolute nothingness is impossible because in order to be completely devoid of property nothingness, by this definition, would also be devoid of potential and without the potential to exist the world can not exist. Since it does exist nothingness can not be absolute. Which means nothingness is not nothing which is a contradiction.

Since contradictions can not exist in logical systems the concept which represents nothingness, or neutrality, must collapse into a state that is stable to avoid a paradox but in order to do that it must have something in common with that state to also avoid a non-sequiter. Since nothingness is the only thing that can be thought of in completely negative terms except for the fact it can be thought of, the only property it can be said to have is that it is a concept. Therefore it may only collapse into a state that is also a concept. And since concepts by definition must be observed by a mind that foundational state must be self-referential or self-observing. Because It is the foundation of all existence It is "Prime" and because It is self-referential It is an "Observer" It is thus called the "Prime Observer".


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