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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 and hence unknowable. 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. 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  booksall.net 160px x 100px | 2.10kB [source page] Subjectivity and Irreligion Atheism and Agnosticism in Kant Schopenhauer and Nietzsche Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy Ashgate Publishing  images.ecampus.com 187px x 187px | 6.70kB [source page] Other versions by this Author From Yahoo Image Search: "Agnosticism"  darwiniana.com nemo ue, 16 Jun 2009 20:07:51 GM Atheism and . Agnosticism. .  atheism.about.com unknown Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:00:23 GM Chloe Clifford-Frith, AHS Press Officer told The National Student that she believes atheist and . agnostic. students are experiencing prejudice on campus, One of the reasons the AHS exists is to support uni groups who experience these ... atheism.about.com Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:00:42 GM Xochiquetzal, the Aztec goddess of sex, love, and prostitutes, was honored at a festival every 8 years. A young woman was chosen by artisans to impersonate the goddess; she was sacrificed, flayed, and her skin given to a man to wear ... From Google Blog Search: "Agnosticism"  news.google.com Shreveport Times It's the devoutly Roman Catholic father taking his teenage son to Mexico to read aloud Catholic theologians to combat Christopher's growing agnosticism , ... and more » news.google.com Examiner.com Humanism goes beyond the scope of atheism, agnosticism , and freethought. It offers a secular world view - a blend of science, rationality, philosophy, ... and more » news.google.com Kamloops This Week As far back as history goes, we find examples of agnosticism , if not atheism. The number of nonbelievers is still a fraction of the great mass of humanity ... and more » From Google News Search: "Agnosticism" What's the difference between athiesm and agnosticism? Q. Just. Curious. Asked by Jeffrey - Fri Nov 30 20:40:26 2007 - - 5 Answers - 0 Comments A. Atheism... The belief that there is no god. Agnosticism... The belief that we will not be able to prove the existence or non-existence of god until after death(or unable to prove it at all..because we are just dead) Answered by Atomic New Theory - Fri Nov 30 20:49:04 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 What is the Islamic perspective on Agnosticism?
Q. Are they Kaffirs? Asked by unknown - Wed Nov 5 18:48:40 2008 - - 6 Answers - 0 Comments A. Agnostic means a person who holds that the existence of the ultimate cause, as God, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable, or that human knowledge is limited to experience. So they are definitely classed as unbelievers sister I can tell you that. Answered by She said - Thu Nov 6 03:51:13 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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