Faith in God has been fundamental and irrefutable throughout the existence of mankind. By believing in God, it is easier for people to understand and accept what is happening around them. It is from faith that such people draw strength and inspiration. But for some, the question of the existence of God as such is an unproven fact. A person who does not deny God, but at the same time does not recognize him, is called an agnostic. In fact, there are many agnostics and their number continues to grow rapidly. They do not accept the theories of any religious teachings and are ready to believe in the presence of the Creator only if there is strong evidence. Without these, knowledge is impossible for an agnostic.
The scriptures in this case are only literary works that have no evidence base. For an agnostic, the main thing is truth, not unconditional faith.
The term “Agnosticism” itself belongs to Professor Thomas Huxley, who coined it back in 1869 as a designation for his own views.
By definition, an agnostic is a person who believes it is impossible to prove either the existence of God or his absence. Huxley, for example, was not an atheist and did not deny gods, but was not an adherent of any particular faith.
There is also a version that agnostic and skeptic are synonymous concepts. For both, cognition occurs in such a way that no information is unconditionally accepted on faith, everything must be verified and confirmed.
Agnostics: characteristics, psychological analysis of this type of personality
- 1. Concepts of agnostics
- 2.Types of agnostics
- 3.Characteristics of an agnostic
- 4.Philosophical analysis of agnostics
- 5.Agnostic and atheist
- 6. Why people become agnostics
- 7.Conclusion
- Only introverts can see these hidden images, thanks to their unique powers of observation.
- Introvert - who is it? The whole truth about introverts
- "Rorschach stains" or a test for psychopaths
- Who do you see first? Your answer will show your personality!
- Psychology of color: How each color characterizes personality
Agnostic concepts
As such, agnosticism is not a religion, but rather a personal perception of the world.
Agnostics adhere to the following concepts and beliefs:
- modern humanity’s knowledge of the surrounding world is biased; reality cannot be fully understood, so there is no point in proving anything, because everyone can have their own truth; no opinion can be absolute; reality can only be called what is confirmed by indisputable evidence; discussions on such topics as the existence of God, ghosts, aliens and the transmigration of souls are impossible. That is, of course, it is possible to discuss this, but you should not prove and dispute it yourself, much less agitate and impose your point of view.
According to agnostics, “I believe” or “I don’t believe” is too simple and cannot be the truth.
This is only suitable for those who are not inclined to get to the bottom of the truth and look for evidence. Are you a nihilist, or do you simply not care about everyone and everything?
How do agnostics see the world?
Let's give a simple example. Any object around us consists of atoms; all matter and living organisms are also based on these smallest particles. Now this is an obvious theory, proven by scientists and accepted in society. If evidence is provided of the existence of smaller particles that make up atoms, then the previous theory will be refuted by the new one. It turns out that the proof of something followed by a refutation can continue indefinitely. It follows from this that an agnostic is one who is convinced of the impossibility of complete knowledge of the world, both now and in the future.
The rules of agnosticism imply the impossibility of providing guaranteed evidence about God, but at the same time they do not deny his existence. When a person does not have irrefutable evidence of the presence of higher powers, he has to search for them, and this will only lead to new questions. After all the research, this person will be convinced of the impossibility of obtaining absolutely accurate and indisputable data about the Almighty. In matters of philosophy, agnosticism shares the same principles about knowledge of the world. Agnosticism is not a religion, but rather it can be called a philosophical theory.
Types of Agnostics
Contrary to the opinion that agnosticism slows down progress, it can be said that agnostics:
- respect science, striving to find answers to their questions in it; do not recognize established theories and authorities; do not accept other people's opinions.
Agnostics can be called “uncomfortable” individuals, because any religion is a community of judgments and their unconditional acceptance.
The most famous agnostics include Kant, Einstein, Darwin, and Russell. They did not consider themselves atheists, who completely denied belief in the existence of God, but did not take upon themselves the right to judge high matters. Being scientists, they believed that the easiest thing in this case was to be an atheist and question everything. The English biologist Richard Dawkins, the author of the famous book “The Selfish Gene” about the view of evolution from genetics, in another of his works “The God Delusion” divided agnostics into the following types:
- An actual agnostic
, in whom belief in God slightly outweighs unbelief.
That is, there is no absolute conviction in the existence of the Creator, but there is still an assumption. An unbiased agnostic
- having faith and unbelief in equal measure.
An agnostic with a tendency toward atheism
has multiple doubts about the existence of God.
Disbelief prevails here. Agnostic-atheist
- with minimal faith in God.
The skeptic and his skepticism: What does the eternal search for evidence lead to?
Introduction to the worldview of agnosticism
Agnosticism is not a religion, but a worldview (what is it?). There are several factual answers to the question “what is it and who are agnostics?” A kind of checklist for identifying the rudiments of this view of the world in yourself:
- Agnostics understand: modern humanity perceives the world around us biasedly.
- They are not used to imposing an opinion, raising an absolute understanding of reality.
- Such a person is convinced that everyone has their own truth, there is no reason to “break spears” or argue. Reality is still incomprehensible.
Agnosticism - belief in science, knowledge . What is real is what can be clearly explained, proven, and justified. It is impossible, according to agnostics, to discuss topics such as:
- The existence of God.
- Aliens.
- Reincarnation.
- Ghosts.
A philosophical question can be discussed, but not proven. A follower of this paradigm “believes” only in scientific, socially justified experiments, leaving theoretical pseudo-scientific formats to others. It is not in the rules of agnostics to prove or challenge ; they expect the same from others, not tolerating being “pulled” into their camp.
Remember the good old proverb that truth is born in a dispute? For agnostics, this is a false belief. Knowledge is objective, and “I believe” / “I don’t believe” are simplified answers for those who do not want to face the truth and look for evidence.
There is an opinion that the philosophy of agnosticism does not contribute to progress, because they do not try to find answers to new questions, but everything is somewhat different. On the contrary, agnostics:
- They are not guided by other people's opinions.
- They respect science and strive to find answers in it.
- Imposed authorities are alien to them. Speaking about who they are and what kind of people they are, it is worth noting: a person is not “convenient” , since in a religious community a commonality of judgment is important, but for an agnostic this is practically impossible.
It is worth knowing: if we turn to philosophy, then agnosticism is not even an independent concept, but skepticism in knowledge , epistemological pessimism. Agnostics doubt objective reality. Remember Protagoras' statements: everything is as it seems.
Agnosticism discourages the search for a universal basis. Lenin believed that this worldview was characterized by intellectual indecisiveness, which did not prevent many great people from sharing their views.
Characteristics of an agnostic
Judging by what agnostics believe, one can formulate a certain characteristic of such people. It is important for them:
- refrain from making specific statements: whether there is a God or not; act independently without relying on God; if God still exists, he does not care about man; good and evil are all relative, it is rather someone’s undesirable behavior; a person performs all actions based on the limitations set by his conscience; with all the admiration for the life of Christ, this is the most ordinary person with super qualities; immortality and the existence of souls are very doubtful; the meaning of life lies in life itself with all its joys, hardships and goals; proof of the existence of God is a matter of time, but there is none yet.
Convinced fatalist - who is this?
Philosophical analysis of agnostics
An agnostic does not believe in absolutes
A philosophical view of agnosticism was developed by I. Kant, who studied this phenomenon.
According to this philosopher, knowledge of reality is not possible due to the following reasons:
- the possibilities of knowledge are limited for a person due to his natural essence; the world cannot be comprehended in principle; only the external region is accessible to man, but not the internal essence of phenomena.
Based on the works of philosophers such as Berkeley and Hume, agnosticism can be characterized by the following theses:
- this worldview is closely related to skepticism; an agnostic does not recognize objective knowledge, as well as the fact that the world can be fully comprehended; knowledge of God is not possible due to the impossibility of obtaining reliable information about him.
Now there are many simplified versions of the concept of “agnostic”.
It has gotten to the point where many people believe that agnosticism is simply a tendency to accept one's own conclusions. Moreover, these conclusions can run parallel to or even refute those generally accepted in society. This is very convenient for a particular person; it helps him justify his reluctance to adhere to generally accepted opinions. In fact, an agnost will never adhere to patterns due to the fact that he has contradictory and independent views.
Likewise, agnostics never consider themselves right due to the minimal amount of knowledge, motivation and resources in a certain area.
Characteristics of kinesthetics. How to communicate with kinesthetic learners?
Gnostic and agnostic - the difference
Atheism and agnosticism have united in such a direction as atheistic agnosticism, in which belief in any deity is denied, but the presence of divine manifestation as a whole is not denied. In addition to agnostics, there is also the opposite “camp” - gnostics (some philosophers consider them true believers). What is the difference between Gnostics and Agnostics?
- Agnostics question the knowledge of God, Gnostics simply know that he exists.
- Followers of Gnosticism believe in the truth of human knowledge through the knowledge of reality through scientific and mystical experience; agnostics believe that the world is unknowable.
Agnostic and atheist
Agnosticism should not be confused with atheism - these two concepts are significantly different:
- An agnostic cannot always adhere to any one fact due to constant doubts. Today it can be one thing, but tomorrow it can be completely different. He understands that there is a lot of new, unknown in the world and is open to a wide variety of incoming information, which makes him constantly waver in his opinions. An atheist firmly believes that there are no higher powers. Such a personality is fully formed and firm in atheistic convictions, which are not shaken by time or new facts. Agnostics are essentially humanists and altruists; people, as such, with all their needs are important to them. Agnostics treat believers with understanding. The essence of atheists is selfishness; their own interests always prevail, and this can manifest itself in aggression towards believers, a sharp rejection of their faith. Both the agnostic and the atheist do not see the possibility of proving the existence of the human soul. The only difference is that the former feel it within themselves, while the latter deny the existence of even their own, as well as an afterlife. There is an undeniable difference in attitude towards traditions. Despite the fact that an agnostic does not believe in God, all church celebrations are not alien to him - he loves and accepts them. An atheist does not recognize such events due to the fact that, in his subjective opinion, they impose faith on him.
A person by himself at birth does not have any faith and over time accepts the one that is instilled in him from childhood by society itself.
But it is believed that every person is born an agnostic or an atheist. And it is precisely the absence of faith as such that is the common point that connects both.
Agnostics do not have absolute confidence in the existence of God; they are constantly looking for evidence of this, putting forward hypotheses, and conducting research. This does not provide any confirmation, but only strengthens their opinion that it is impossible to find irrefutable evidence of the presence of the creator.
Who are agnostics?
Anyone can be an agnostic. This is not influenced by religion or any political views. The “highlight” is that people strive to know the truth and the meaning of existence by choosing available methods. But any belief requires evidence. If the thesis cannot be refuted or proven, there can be no talk of judgment, because any side can be right.
Let's give an example: it is unknown whether God exists, his existence has not been proven or disproved. An agnostic does not seek to follow the opinions of the majority, regardless of the “camp”; he is ready to talk about something, having good reasons.
Quite often, adherents of such a worldview completely abandon philosophizing, since the phenomenon simply cannot be accurately defined. You shouldn’t think that agnostics are some kind of “crackers”; they don’t care about anything except the everyday component. They just don’t worry about those moments that don’t directly concern them, they don’t worry about the meaning of existence.
At the same time, agnostics are not atheists in their pure form, but something in between and a believer. They believe that a person cannot know everything due to his limitations and subjectivity (it is not a fact that what you see with your eyes and processed by your brain looks exactly like that).
By definition, any system cannot comprehend itself. What can we say about the divine and the true nature of things. Therefore, agnostics, not believing in God, do not refute his existence, because neither one nor the other can be proven. It's stupid to deny something you can't understand. But they also cannot believe in this, due to their special worldview.
Interesting: the term appeared thanks to Professor Thomas Henry Huxley. This happened in 1869. The English zoologist realized: he does not deny that gods can exist (he is not an atheist), but does not want to accept any faith.
Agnosticism is found in ancient philosophy (Protagoras, Sagjay, Belatthaputt). There is an opinion that this movement originates from skepticism and agnostic is a synonym for the word skeptic .
Why do people become agnostics?
Arguments for agnosticism:
- Even if some things influence a person’s consciousness, it changes only as it is inherent in his nature. That is, a person perceives everything only from the perspective of the changes that these things have on his consciousness. Human sensations are an area closed to some external things. Human experience has limits and an end: the real world is wider than the idea that a particular person has about it. In this regard, it is not possible to draw true conclusions.
It is believed that the reasons why a person begins to adhere to agnosticism are:
- the complexity of the object of knowledge (that is, the existence of God); the complexity of the process of cognition itself.
Hedonists and hedonism - a high without drugs
Agnosticism in the scientific sense
An agnostic scientist prefers to create and prove theories exclusively empirically, based on data received by the sensory system. It excludes speculativeness and abstract reasoning divorced from reality from methods of proof.
Agnosticism (from ancient Greek ἄγνωστος - unknowable, unknown) is a term in philosophy, theory of knowledge and theology. Proponents of agnosticism consider it fundamentally impossible to know objective reality through subjective experience and impossible to know any ultimate and absolute foundations of reality.
The possibility of proving or refuting ideas and statements based entirely on subjective premises is also denied. Sometimes agnosticism is defined as a philosophical doctrine that asserts the fundamental unknowability of the world.
Agnosticism arose at the end of the 18th century as an antithesis to the ideas of metaphysical philosophy, which was actively engaged in the study of the world through the subjective understanding of metaphysical ideas, often without any objective manifestation or confirmation.
In addition to philosophical agnosticism, there is theological and scientific agnosticism. In theology, agnostics separate the cultural and ethical component of faith and religion, considering it a kind of secular school of moral behavior in society, from the mystical (questions of the existence of gods, demons, the afterlife, religious rituals) and do not attach significant importance to the latter.
Scientific agnosticism exists as a principle in the theory of knowledge, suggesting that since the experience gained in the process of cognition is inevitably distorted by the consciousness of the subject, the subject is fundamentally unable to comprehend an accurate and complete picture of the world. This principle does not deny knowledge, but only indicates. On the fundamental inaccuracy of any knowledge and on the impossibility of knowing the world completely.
