Agnosticism

Agnosticism
the philosophical view that the truth values of certain claims — particularly theological claims regarding the existence of God, gods, or deities — are unknown, inherently unknowable, or incoherent, and therefore, (some agnostics may go as far to say) irrelevant to life. Agnosticism, in both its strong (explicit) and weak (implicit) forms, is necessarily a non-atheist and non-theist position, though an agnostic person may also be either an atheist, a theist, or one who endorses neither position.
• Agnostic atheism - the philosophical view that encompasses both atheism and agnosticism. Due to definitional variance, an agnostic atheist does not believe in God or gods and by extension holds true: 'the existence and nonexistence of deities is currently unknown and may be absolutely unknowable', or 'knowledge of the existence and nonexistence of deities is irrelevant or unimportant', or 'abstention from claims of knowledge of the existence and nonexistence of deities is optimal'.
• Agnostic theism - the philosophical view that encompasses both theism and agnosticism. An agnostic theist is one who views that the truth value of claims regarding the existence of god(s) is unknown or inherently unknowable but chooses to believe in god(s) in spite of this.
• Strong agnosticism - also referred to as explicit agnosticism and positive agnosticism, it is the view that the evidence in the universe is such that it is impossible for humans to know whether or not any deities exist.
• Weak agnosticism - the position that the evidence is such that the existence or nonexistence of deities is currently unknown, but is not necessarily unknowable. Also called implicit agnosticism, empirical agnosticism, and negative agnosticism.

Mini philosophy glossary . 2014.

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  • Agnosticism — • A philosophical theory of the limitations of knowledge, professing doubt of or disbelief in some or all of the powers of knowing possessed by the human mind Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Agnosticism     Agnosticism …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • agnosticism — AGNOSTICÍSM s.n. Concepţie filozofică idealistă care neagă, parţial sau total, posibilitatea cunoaşterii obiective a lumii, a esenţei fenomenelor. – Din fr. agnosticisme. Trimis de ana zecheru, 18.03.2008. Sursa: DEX 98  agnosticísm s. n. (sil.… …   Dicționar Român

  • Agnosticism — Ag*nos ti*cism, n. That doctrine which, professing ignorance, neither asserts nor denies. Specifically: (Theol.) The doctrine that the existence of a personal Deity, an unseen world, etc., can be neither proved nor disproved, because of the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • agnosticism — (n.) 1870, from AGNOSTIC (Cf. agnostic) + ISM (Cf. ism). The agnostic does not simply say, I do not know. He goes another step, and he says, with great emphasis, that you do not know. [Robert G. Ingersoll, Reply to Dr. Lyman Abbott, 1890] …   Etymology dictionary

  • agnosticism —    Agnosticism is variously defined as (1) lack of belief in God, (2) lack of belief in God and lack of belief that there is no God, (3) the view that the existence of God cannot be proved, and (4) the view that the existence of God cannot be… …   Christian Philosophy

  • agnosticism — [ag näs′ti siz΄əm] n. the doctrine of agnostics: distinguished from ATHEISM …   English World dictionary

  • Agnosticism — Certainty series Agnosticism Belief Certainty Doubt Determinism Epistemology Estimation Fallibilism …   Wikipedia

  • agnosticism — /ag nos teuh siz euhm/, n. 1. the doctrine or belief of an agnostic. 2. an intellectual doctrine or attitude affirming the uncertainty of all claims to ultimate knowledge. [1870 75; AGNOSTIC + ISM] * * * Doctrine that one cannot know the… …   Universalium

  • agnosticism — noun /æɡˈnɒstɪsɪzəm,æɡˈnɑstɪsɪzəm/ a) The view that absolute truth or ultimate certainty is unattainable, especially regarding knowledge not based on experience or perceivable phenomena. The Old Testament is responsible for more atheism,… …   Wiktionary

  • agnosticism — [[t]ægnɒ̱stɪsɪzəm[/t]] N UNCOUNT Agnosticism is the belief that it is not possible to say definitely whether or not there is a God. Compare atheism …   English dictionary

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