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No, that is exactly what it means. It doesnt take very long to look something up (eg. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agno
by mjburgess 12y ago
No, that is exactly what it means. It doesnt take very long to look something up (eg. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism ).
Agnosticism is not about being uncertain, it's the position that the answer is unknowable or unknown - which is much stronger than merely being uncertain.
- meepmorp 12y agoYou have a point, but the person you're responding to makes a more important one - the colloquial definition of agnostic, in reference to religion, is a person who's not sure what they think about the existence of gods. When you call yourself an agnostic, that's what people typically understand by it.
- mjburgess 12y agoThat's the problem with surveys like this: the categories are political not philosophical. It would be better to ask, "Does a deity feature amongst your considerations when making a decision?" I take it that's what people are mainly interested in anyway. If this question was asked alongside the others in these questionnaires I think you'd see a high percentage of non-atheist responders agreeing.
- SamReidHughes 12y agoI am not making a point about the colloquial definition. The wikipedia article he linked disagrees with him too.
- jasonkostempski 12y agoIf that's the definition then it's useless as a distinguishing label since everyone on either side of faith can't know. If anyone could know, faith and belief wouldn't be necessary.
- mjburgess 12y agoMany atheists and theists believe you can provide evidence one way or another. Most people are not agnostic.
- SamReidHughes 12y agoThere is a difference between saying you can prove something and saying you know something. Your own Wikipedia article disagrees with you.