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Agnosticism (Greek: α- a-, without + γνώσις gnōsis, knowledge; after Gnosticism) is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of deities, spiritual-beings, or even ultimate reality — is unknown or, depending on the form of agnosticism, inherently impossible to prove or disprove. It is often put forth as a middle ground between theism and atheism, though it is not a religious declaration in itself, and the terms are not mutually exclusive, since agnosticism refers to knowledge, while atheism and theism refer to belief. Demographic research services normally list agnostics in the same category as atheists and/or non-religious people, using 'agnostic' in the sense of 'noncommittal'. However, this can be misleading given the existence of agnostic theists, who identify themselves as both agnostics in the original sense and followers of a particular religion. Many philosophers and thinkers have written about agnosticism, including Thomas Henry Huxley, Albert Einstein, Robert G. Ingersoll, and Bertrand Russell. Religious scholars who wrote about agnosticism are Peter Kreeft, Blaise Pascal and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later elected as Pope Benedict XVI. From Wikipedia under the
GNU Free Documentation License  fredbank.com 370px x 370px | 88.70kB [source page] agnosticism 6 090  i56.photobucket.com 800px x 600px | 260.90kB [source page] angela 17 sajc I quote the others only the better to express myself From Yahoo Image Search: "Agnosticism"  guardian.co.uk unknown Wed, 20 May 2009 13:18:06 GM The question: What is . agnosticism. ?: Is it anything more than a polite, or cowardly veil around atheism?  ofmicrobesandmen.blogspot.com Clostridiophile Fri, 29 May 2009 04:05:00 GM This post is not original in the idea that . agnosticism. and atheism are not mutually exclusive. One can be an . agnostic. atheist, just as someone can be an . agnostic. theist. One can have no knowledge of god, and either have a belief, ... guardian.co.uk Ed Halliwell Sat, 23 May 2009 06:00:00 GM Ed Halliwell: What is . agnosticism. ?: We neither need an external, creator God, nor to close ourselves off from the spectacular majesty of existence. From Google Blog Search: "Agnosticism"  news.google.com guardian.co.uk In fact, there is a lot of room for scepticism and agnosticism , not least when you triangulate between those who just "knew" that the replacement of Saddam ... and more » news.google.com Examiner.com His agnosticism shines through in the poetry, and the tone of the verses is quite bleak. 1. CS Lewis, Surprised By Joy: The Shape of My Early Life (Orlando, ... and more » news.google.com Royals Review Before we get to the answer, it is again worthwhile to lay out there a kind of general statement of agnosticism regarding defensive statistics, ... and more » From Google News Search: "Agnosticism" Are Atheism and Agnosticism generally accepted in the rest of North America? Q. I am from Mexico and most people here are Catholic. I have unintentionally gotten into several arguments because I have voiced my opinion over religion, particularly Catholicism. I don't appreciate the fact that people give their hard-earned money to an establishment who claims to give the money gathered in collection plates to the poor but really doesn't. Being that the majority of Mexicans are Catholic and contribute to the church, why is there still a lot of poverty in my country? The priest in my church, for example, has a luxurious car. Not very humble. Please excuse my English. Asked by Laurita - Thu Dec 18 01:13:18 2008 - - 5 Answers - 0 Comments A. 1) Your English is fine, but your train of thought seems garbled. You didn't say anything about atheists or agnostics in your details. 2) Don't capitalize atheism and agnosticism as they are not proper nouns like religions are. 3) I have never been to Mexico, but from what I understand there is a lot of corruption. It is sad if what you say is true and even most religious establishments have succumb to greed and general self interest. Poverty will never be eradicated, but the fact that supposedly humble priests have luxuries is a clear indicator something is amiss. 4) In the United States we have the freedom of religion, or the freedom from religion if you are an atheist. Some non-believers would might say that they are mistreated… [cont.] Answered by Spazzy- McGee - Thu Dec 18 01:31:21 2008 Do you agree that the only honest philosophy is agnosticism? Q. Thank you so much philosophers for all the answers. Have a great day! Asked by Third P - Fri Sep 28 18:54:28 2007 - - 11 Answers - 0 Comments A. Any search for wisdom, any attempt to understand the first causes, any honest intellectual endeavour for the sake of knowing and understanding is an honest philosophy: Positions and explanations vary but as to honesty goes, any philosophy will be honest in the same measure that its attempt to offer any explanation is for the sake of wisdom itself and not for any other purpose alien to knowledge for the sake of truth, be it power, domination, manipulation or deception. The purpose of knowledge is truth, explanations are manifold, and points of view are countless. There is but one truth but we have acces only to our own portion of it, limited as we are by our own nature...yet we seek to understand. This is as honest as we can go. And this… [cont.] Answered by Dominicanus - Fri Sep 28 19:03:01 2007 What's the difference between agnosticism and weak atheism?
Q. "At the bottom of things, there is no difference. All who reject Him will be lost." At the bottom of things? Who's this "Him" you speak of and what relevance does "He" have to my question, friend? Keep in mind that people don't appreciate it when you say their beliefs are at the "bottom" of something especially when you haven't actually taken the time to educate yourself as to what they actually are. Your self-righteous comment is little more than a testament to what you've been told by someone else who obviously had no interest in honestly educating you. Asked by Cosmodot - Tue May 20 00:26:55 2008 - - 9 Answers - 0 Comments A. Most scholars say that weak atheism includes agnosticism and non-cognitivism. Agnosticism says that God's existence can neither be proved nor disproved. Non-cognitivism says that all God argument is meaningless. So, weak atheism is superset of agnosticism. But in society most agnostics do not want to be categorized as (weak) atheists. And, to complete the picture, strong atheism says that it is not even possible for God to exist in this very natural world. Answered by Russ DG - Tue May 20 00:46:07 2008 From Yahoo Answer Search: "Agnosticism" Agnosticism (from the Greek a, meaning "without" and gnosis, "knowledge", translating to unknowable) is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly theological claims regarding metaphysics, afterlife or the existence of God, god(s), or deities — is unknown or (possibly) inherently unknowable. Agnosticism is not to be confused with religious views opposing the doctrine of gnosis and Gnosticism— these are religious concepts that are not generally related to agnosticism. Agnostics claim either that it is not possible to have absolute or certain knowledge or, alternatively, that while certainty may be possible, they personally have no knowledge. Agnosticism in both cases involves some form of skepticism. Sourced
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