Meaning of Agnosticism Revealed at Last
While I no longer consider myself an agnostic, having fully embraced my atheism quite impenitently at this stage of the game, it still fills me with equal parts disgust and irritation when I overhear people of faith misusing the term agnostic. It would seem, for whatever reason, that these individuals are simply unable to fathom even the remote possibility of an honest declaration of utter skepticism. How many times have I heard it assumed, by some misguided believer or other, that agnostics do actually believe in some “higher power,” and that they are simply not certain which higher power or of the details involved. Agnosticism means nothing of the sort. It means, quite simply, that one is wholly uncertain as to whether or not God, gods, or any other form of higher power exist.
It’s that simple- “I don’t know.“ Not only does this not imply some automatic, vague form of belief, it does not even allow for it. Any other definition is incorrect. So, please, for my sanity. For the sake of logic. For the preservation of the language. For whatever reason you care to entertain. If you are reading this, and are of a disposition to utilize this word incorrectly, to unite the world in implicit fellowship under the banner of shared delusion, I beg you, refrain. The agnostics of the world are quite comfortable with uncertainty.
From Wikipedia:
Agnosticism (from the Greek "a," meaning "without," and Gnosticism or "gnosis," meaning knowledge). is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims—particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of God, gods, deities, or even ultimate reality—is unknown or, depending on the form of agnosticism, inherently unknowable due to the nature of subjective experience.
Agnostics claim either that it is not possible to have absolute or certain knowledge of the existence or nonexistence of God or gods; or, alternatively, that while individual certainty may be possible, they personally have no knowledge. Agnosticism in both cases involves some form of skepticism.
It’s that simple- “I don’t know.“ Not only does this not imply some automatic, vague form of belief, it does not even allow for it. Any other definition is incorrect. So, please, for my sanity. For the sake of logic. For the preservation of the language. For whatever reason you care to entertain. If you are reading this, and are of a disposition to utilize this word incorrectly, to unite the world in implicit fellowship under the banner of shared delusion, I beg you, refrain. The agnostics of the world are quite comfortable with uncertainty.
posted by Joel Hardin | 7:57 PM
1 Comments:
Very good Joel. I can't remember having a need to use the word but may have at some point and likely misused it. While I do believe in God I have no compulsion to inflict my belief on others and thus generally avoid discussions on the existence or non-existence of God. There is another reason. I simply don't know enough about him to discuss him and people generally don't care to hear how one feels.
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