1) b) is not agnosticism, it is weak atheism.
Originally Posted by The Oxford English Dictionary
1) b) is not agnosticism, it is weak atheism.
If you follow the roots of the word agnostic to its origins it translates as "without knowledge" or I prefer "without opinion." Atheists have an opinion, weak atheism or undecided atheism would in my opinion then classify that person as agnostic.
IE: "I dunno, but maybe." = Agnostic.
It is the current definition we are interested in, not the term it was derived from.
Excerpt taken from Answers.com:
WORD HISTORY: An agnostic does not deny the existence of God and heaven but holds that one cannot know for certain whether or not they exist. The term agnostic was fittingly coined by the 19th-century British scientist Thomas H. Huxley, who believed that only material phenomena were objects of exact knowledge. He made up the word from the prefix a–, meaning “without, not,” as in amoral, and the noun Gnostic. Gnostic is related to the Greek word gnōsis, “knowledge,” which was used by early Christian writers to mean “higher, esoteric knowledge of spiritual things”; hence, Gnostic referred to those with such knowledge. In coining the term agnostic, Huxley was considering as “Gnostics” a group of his fellow intellectuals—“ists,” as he called them—who had eagerly embraced various doctrines or theories that explained the world to their satisfaction. Because he was a “man without a rag of a label to cover himself with,” Huxley coined the term agnostic for himself, its first published use being in 1870.
So I guess basically... Yeah.
The definition isn't wrong per se... Just incomplete.
The definition you have just quoted is consistent with that of the OED. 1) b) is consistent with neither and is therefore wrong.
The OED's definition is complete and requires no further additions at this time.
I think this may be a matter of perception.
I perceive the definition differently than you do.
Atheism implies that it is a black and white world without any gray areas; which it isn't. As does any of your various religions. Very strictly they say, "This is how it is and it isn't any other way, so there."
Agnosticism implies that it could be that way, it could be this way, it could be another way. I don't really know, I don't have an opinion. Some say, "I believe there may be some greater force but I am not committed enough to side with any party." which really isn't true agnosticism... I guess it's weak agnosticism!
Belief is gnosticism. Belief in a god is theism. Lack of belief in a god is atheism. Lack of belief in any non-physical being or power is most likely materialism (I'll need to look that up). The belief that the existence of a god is unprovable is agnosticism.
I took A-Level Philosophy of Religion for a reason, you know.
im pretty sure we had this argument before the editor. pretty sure I WON.
New argument old man.
Who are Christians here??
This is my evolved Pikachu!
And... er... BLUE Espeon!
Paired with:- chobits_addict
I'm a Muslim.
This is my evolved Pikachu!
And... er... BLUE Espeon!
Paired with:- chobits_addict
Osama Bin Laden you sly dog. I knew you were a master of disguises.
Intolerance will only get you so far, Blackie Chan.
It was more the shaddy profile I was making the joke for than the muslim aspect, I guess maybe that couldn't be inturpeted from the way I did that. Badly done joke I suppose. If it were more thought out, then maybe it would have been better
I apologise for misinterpreting your stance on tolerance.
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