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| − | '''Agnosticism''' (from the Greek a, meaning "without", and gnosticism or gnosis, meaning "knowledge") is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims - particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of God, gods, deities, or even ultimate reality - is unknown or, depending on the form of agnosticism, inherently unknowable due to the nature of subjective experience. | + | '''Agnosticism''' |
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| − | Agnostics claim either that it is not possible to have absolute or certain knowledge of the existence or nonexistence of God or gods; or, alternatively, that while individual certainty may be possible, they personally have no knowledge. Agnosticism in both cases involves some form of skepticism.
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| − | Demographic research services normally list agnostics in the same category as atheists and non-religious people, although this can be misleading depending on the number of agnostic theists who identify themselves first as agnostics and second as followers of a particular religion.
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| − | == Categories ==
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| − | Agnosticism can be subdivided into several subcategories. Recently suggested variations include:
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| − | *Strong agnosticism (also called hard agnosticism, closed agnosticism, strict agnosticism, absolute agnosticism) - the view that the question of the existence or nonexistence of an omnipotent God and the nature of ultimate reality is unknowable by reason of our natural inability to verify any experience with anything but another subjective experience. A strong agnostic would say "I can't know, and neither can you."
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| − | *Mild agnosticism (also called weak agnosticism, soft agnosticism, open agnosticism, empirical agnosticism, temporal agnosticism) - the view that the existence or nonexistence of God or gods is currently unknown but is not necessarily unknowable, therefore one will withhold judgment until/if more evidence is available. A weak agnostic would say "I don't know, but maybe you do."
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| − | *Militant agnosticism - similar to weak agnosticism, but with the additional imposition of that view on others. A militant agnostic would say "I don't know, and neither do you."
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| − | *Apathetic agnosticism - the view that there is no proof of either the existence or nonexistence of God or gods, but since any God or gods that may exist appear unconcerned for the universe or the welfare of its inhabitants, the question is largely academic anyway. An apathetic agnostic would say, "I don't know, and who cares anyway?"
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| − | *Model agnosticism - the view that philosophical and metaphysical questions are not ultimately verifiable but that a model of malleable assumption should be built upon rational thought. This branch of agnosticism does not focus on a deity's existence. A model agnostic would say "I don't know, but maybe it can be figured out."
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| − | *Agnostic theism (also called religious agnosticism) - the view of those who do not claim to know existence of God or gods, but still believe in such an existence. An agnostic theist would say "I don't know, but I think so." (See Knowledge vs. Beliefs)
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| − | *Agnostic atheism - the view of those who do not know of the existence or nonexistence of God or gods, and do not believe in them. An agnostic atheist would say "I don't know, and I don't think so."
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| − | *Ignosticism - the view that a coherent definition of God must be put forward before the question of the existence of God can meaningfully be discussed. If the chosen definition isn't coherent, the ignostic holds the noncognitivist view that the existence of God is meaningless or empirically untestable. It should be noted that A.J. Ayer, Theodore Drange, and other philosophers see both atheism and agnosticism as incompatible with ignosticism on the grounds that atheism and agnosticism accept "God exists" as a meaningful proposition which can be argued for or against. The ignostic would say, "I don't know what you're talking about when you refer to God. Unless we first figure that out, debates whether god exists are meaningless."
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