Agnosticism

Not to be confused with Gnosticism.
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Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact.[1][2][3] It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to personal limitations rather than a worldview.[2][4][5] Another definition is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient rational grounds to justify either the belief that God exists or the belief that God does not exist."[6]

The English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley said that he originally coined the word agnostic in 1869 "to denote people who, like [himself], confess themselves to be hopelessly ignorant concerning a variety of matters [including the matter of God's existence], about which metaphysicians and theologians, both orthodox and heterodox, dogmatise with the utmost confidence."[5] Earlier thinkers had written works that promoted agnostic points of view, such as Sanjaya Belatthiputta, a 5th-century BCE Indian philosopher who expressed agnosticism about any afterlife;[7][8][9] and Protagoras, a 5th-century BCE Greek philosopher who expressed agnosticism about the existence of "the gods".[10][11][12]

  1. ^ Hepburn, Ronald W. (2005) [1967]. "Agnosticism". In Donald M. Borchert (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). MacMillan Reference USA (Gale). p. 92. ISBN 0-02-865780-2. In the most general use of the term, agnosticism is the view that we do not know whether there is a God or not. (page 56 in 1967 edition)
  2. ^ a b "agnostic, agnosticism". OED Online, 3rd ed. Oxford University Press. September 2012. agnostic. : A. n[oun]. :# A person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of immaterial things, especially of the existence or nature of God. :# In extended use: a person who is not persuaded by or committed to a particular point of view; a sceptic. Also: person of indeterminate ideology or conviction; an equivocator. : B. adj[ective]. :# Of or relating to the belief that the existence of anything beyond and behind material phenomena is unknown and (as far as can be judged) unknowable. Also: holding this belief. :# a. In extended use: not committed to or persuaded by a particular point of view; sceptical. Also: politically or ideologically unaligned; non-partisan, equivocal. agnosticism n. The doctrine or tenets of agnostics with regard to the existence of anything beyond and behind material phenomena or to knowledge of a First Cause or God.
  3. ^ Draper, Paul (2022), "Atheism and Agnosticism", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2022 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved May 30, 2024"When used in this epistemological sense, the term “agnosticism” can very naturally be extended beyond the issue of what is or can be known to cover a large family of positions, depending on what sort of “positive epistemic status” is at issue. For example, it might be identified with any of the following positions: that neither theistic belief nor atheistic belief is justified, that neither theistic belief nor atheistic belief is rationally required, that neither belief is rationally permissible, that neither has warrant, that neither is reasonable, or that neither is probable."
  4. ^ Poidevin, Robin (2010). Agnosticism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-957526-8. It stands, it seems, for lack of belief or commitment, for indecision, for non-engagement.
  5. ^ a b Draper, Paul (August 2, 2017). "Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy". Retrieved May 23, 2024. The terms "agnostic" and "agnosticism" were famously coined in the late nineteenth century by the English biologist, T.H. Huxley. He said that he originally invented the word "Agnostic" to denote people who, like [himself], confess themselves to be hopelessly ignorant concerning a variety of matters [including of course the matter of God's existence], about which metaphysicians and theologians, both orthodox and heterodox, dogmatise with the utmost confidence. (1884)
  6. ^ Rowe, William L. (1998). "Agnosticism". In Edward Craig (ed.). Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-07310-3. In the popular sense, an agnostic is someone who neither believes nor disbelieves in God, whereas an atheist disbelieves in God. In the strict sense, however, agnosticism is the view that human reason is incapable of providing sufficient rational grounds to justify either the belief that God exists or the belief that God does not exist. In so far as one holds that our beliefs are rational only if they are sufficiently supported by the human reason, the person who accepts the philosophical position of agnosticism will hold that neither the belief that God exists nor the belief that God does not exist is rational.
  7. ^ "Samaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Contemplative Life". Digha Nikaya. Translated by Bhikkhu, Thanissaro. 1997. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. If you ask me if there exists another world (after death), ... I don't think so. I don't think in that way. I don't think otherwise. I don't think not. I don't think not not.
  8. ^ Bhaskar (1972).
  9. ^ Lloyd Ridgeon (March 13, 2003). Major World Religions: From Their Origins To The Present. Taylor & Francis. pp. 63–. ISBN 978-0-203-42313-4.
  10. ^ The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Protagoras (c. 490 – c. 420 BCE). Archived from the original on February 10, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2013. While the pious might wish to look to the gods to provide absolute moral guidance in the relativistic universe of the Sophistic Enlightenment, that certainty also was cast into doubt by philosophic and sophistic thinkers, who pointed out the absurdity and immorality of the conventional epic accounts of the gods. Protagoras' prose treatise about the gods began "Concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not or of what sort they may be. Many things prevent knowledge including the obscurity of the subject and the brevity of human life."
  11. ^ Patri, Umesh and Prativa Devi (February 1990). "Progress of Atheism in India: A Historical Perspective". Atheist Centre 1940–1990 Golden Jubilee. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  12. ^ Trevor Treharne (2012). How to Prove God Does Not Exist: The Complete Guide to Validating Atheism. Universal-Publishers. pp. 34 ff. ISBN 978-1-61233-118-8.