agnosticism

English - Turkish

Definition of agnosticism in English Turkish dictionary: bilinemezcilik; agnostisizm; {i} bilinemezcilik [filoz.]; agnostisizm bilinemezcilik

English - English

Definition of agnosticism in English English dictionary: The view that the existence of God or of all deities is unknown, unknowable, unproven, or unprovable; The view that absolute truth or ultimate certainty is unattainable, especially regarding knowledge not based on experience or perceivable phenomena; Doubt, uncertainty, or scepticism regarding the existence of a God or of all deities
The Old Testament is responsible for more atheism, agnosticism, disbelief — call it what you will — than any book ever written; it has emptied more churches than all the counterattractions of cinema, motor bicycle and golf course.; Click to check definition not being sure whether God exists You require more proof; a claim of ignorance; the claim that God's existence· can be neither proved nor disproved; The absence of "gnosis" or knowledge The term "agnosticism" was devised by Thomas Huxley Briefly, it tends to suggest the quality of "not knowing" something To some agnostics, it merely suggests that their knowledge is limited Others use the term to suggest that true "knowledge" about anything is impossible A person who "does not know" whether there is a god or not can be without a god belief and therefore an atheist However, some god believers believe in an "unknowable" god so they can also be properly defined as agnostics This is one reason many atheists avoid using the word agnostic to describe their ideas Unless a person further defines their views, using the word agnostic tends to encourage confusion; The doctrine that refuses to accept the evidence of revelation and holds that it is impossible to prove or disprove the existence of God Hence, any doctrine which holds the impossibility of any true knowledge, such as the doctrine that all knowledge is relative; Greek: agnostikos, "not knowing" Doctrine that the existence of God and other spiritual beings is neither certain nor impossible Introduced into English in the 19th century by the British biologist Thomas Henry Huxley; Genus: Position on the existence of God Differentia: The claim of non-belief in God and the non-disbelief in God - that the state of Gods existence is unknowable Comment: This is an example of the evasion of the Law of Excluded Middle; a claim of ignorance; the claim that God's existenceÂ· can be neither proved nor disproved; The philosophical belief that knowledge of God is impossible because of the inherent, insuperable limitations of the human mind The term was coined by T H Huxley about 1870, who, though not the concept's originator, was perhaps its most widely known champion in the latter half of the 19th century Huxley and agnosticism Huxley on agnosticism; n the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and probably unknowable; the theory that God or the afterlife cannot be known with certainty (Cf Vatican II, GS 57 ); doctrine that the existence of God and other spiritual beings is neither certain nor impossible The term, derived from the Greek agnostikos ("not knowing"), was introduced into English in the 19th century by the British biologist Thomas Henry Huxley The agnostic position is distinct from both Theism, which affirms the existence of such beings, and Atheism, although Agnosticism is technically a form of Atheism Although usually regarded as a form of Skepticism, Agnosticism is more limited in scope, for it denies the reliability only of metaphysical and theological beliefs rather than of all beliefs The basis of modern Agnosticism lies in the works of the Scottish philosopher David Hume and the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, both of whom pointed out logical fallacies in the traditional arguments for the existence of God and of the soul Like Agnosticism, Logical Positivism rejects both Atheism and Theism, and maintains that metaphysical statements are meaningless; the belief that the existence of God is not knowable The word is derived from the negative ‘a’ combined with the Greek word ‘gnosis’ which means ‘knowledge ’ Hence, agnosticism is the belief that God cannot be known; the belief that one cannot know if God exists or not, amounts to a suspension of knowledge As with atheism, it rejects the many self-disclosures of God It is an affront to the God Who has spoken, is based on pride, and offers no hope for life now or after death Both positions are contrary to the basic makeup of human beings, who desperately need contact with their Creator and have the spiritual capacity to interact with Him; the position that not enough evidence exists for us to know whether there is or is not a God antecedent: p (the sentence after the "if") in a conditional statement; Belief that human beings do not have sufficient evidence to warrant either the affirmation or the denial of a proposition The term is used especially in reference to our lack of knowledge of the existence of god Recommended Reading: Clarence Darrow, Why I Am an Agnostic and Other Essays (Prometheus, 1994) {at Amazon com} and Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian, and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects (Simon & Schuster, 1977) {at Amazon com} Also see OCP, BGHT, ColE, noesis, ISM, and MacE; (Gk a - no, gnosis - knowledge) Literally: "no-knowledge-ism " The view that one does not, or can not, know ultimate reality (especially God) The position that God's existence cannot be determined due to an insufficiency of knowledge (thus implying the suspension of judgment); the claim that there is not enough evidence for us to know whether God does or does not exist; sometimes called religious skepticism; The belief that there is insufficient evidence either for or against the existence of God, therefore the only sound decision is not to decide; The belief that the existence of God is not knowable The word is derived from the negative 'a' combined with the Greek word 'gnosis' which means 'knowledge ' Hence, agnosticism is the belief that God cannot be known; An agnostic believes several things First, an agnostic believes that certainty about "first principles" or truth is unattainable Only perceptual phenomena are objects of exact knowledge Second, agnostics believe that confirming or denying the existence of God or gods is impossible; The belief that it is not possible to know if there is or is not a God (Compare Atheism, Deism, and Theism ); the belief that God is not knowable The word is derived from the negative ‘a’ combined with the Greek word ‘gnosis’ which means ‘knowledge ’ Hence, agnosticism is the belief that God cannot be known; Technically, there are several kinds of agnosticism: A person who says "I don't personally know whether or not any god exists It might be possible to know such a thing, but I personally don't know " Someone who believes it is not possible to know whether there are any gods A religious agnostic is a person who believes that there is a god or gods but it is not possible to know anything about such god(s); a religious orientation of doubt; a denial of ultimate knowledge of the existence of God; "agnosticism holds that you can neither prove nor disprove God's existence"; A philosophy that denies the possibility of certitudes; the disbelief in any claims of ultimate knowledge; {i} belief that knowledge is limited to human experience; Agnosticism is the belief that it is not possible to say definitely whether or not there is a God. Compare atheism. Doctrine that one cannot know the existence of anything beyond the phenomena of experience. It is popularly equated with religious skepticism, and especially with the rejection of traditional Christian beliefs under the impact of modern scientific thought. T.H. Huxley popularized philosophical agnosticism after coining the term agnostic (as opposed to gnostic) in 1869, to designate one who repudiated traditional Judeo-Christian theism but was not a doctrinaire atheist (see atheism). Agnosticism may mean no more than the suspension of judgment on ultimate questions because of insufficient evidence, or it may constitute a rejection of traditional Christian tenets; That doctrine which, professing ignorance, neither asserts nor denies; The doctrine that the existence of a personal Deity, an unseen world, etc; doubt, uncertainty, or skepticism regarding the existence of God or of all deities; the disbelief in any claims of ultimate knowledge a religious orientation of doubt; a denial of ultimate knowledge of the existence of God; "agnosticism holds that you can neither prove nor disprove God's existence; can be neither proved nor disproved, because of the necessary limits of the human mind (as sometimes charged upon Hamilton and Mansel), or because of the insufficiency of the evidence furnished by physical and physical data, to warrant a positive conclusion (as taught by the school of Herbert Spencer); opposed alike dogmatic skepticism and to dogmatic theism