Agnostic V. Atheism
There is a war going on for your mind. An age-old question is/are there a god or gods? Nested in this question though is another decision worth noting. If my answer is “I do not know” am I an atheist or an agnostic? I would argue that they are one in the same. To call yourself an agnostic is to be a subset of atheism.
Although the distinction between atheist and agnostic may seem significant in use they are similar in definition. The definitions of the terms are as follows; Definition 1: a lack of belief or a strong disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods, Definition 2: one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of god or gods. Without being labeled these definitions of atheist and agnostic, respectively, are almost indistinguishable, both featuring a disbelief in a god or gods. The distinction tends to be a reluctance to be labeled as an atheist due to negative connotations usually associated with the term atheist (Niose) (Keane) (Michael!). With prominent atheists over the last few decades (Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Stephen Fry, Lawrence M. Krauss, Victor Stenger, etc.) tending to be more confrontational the term agnostic has been more palatable to theists as well. Over the years that reluctance to be labeled as an atheist has normally signified a …show more content…
To talk about what something is, is to imply what it is not. Semantics are an important role in a philosophic debate but moreover, they are important for understanding and mitigating so-called "grey areas". It is important to understand that you cannot fall outside of a dichotomy and it is important to have a clear understanding of a position when categorizing information for better understanding society as a
There is a war going on for your mind. An age-old question is/are there a god or gods? Nested in this question though is another decision worth noting. If my answer is “I do not know” am I an atheist or an agnostic? I would argue that they are one in the same. To call yourself an agnostic is to be a subset of atheism.
Although the distinction between atheist and agnostic may seem significant in use they are similar in definition. The definitions of the terms are as follows; Definition 1: a lack of belief or a strong disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods, Definition 2: one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of god or gods. Without being labeled these definitions of atheist and agnostic, respectively, are almost indistinguishable, both featuring a disbelief in a god or gods. The distinction tends to be a reluctance to be labeled as an atheist due to negative connotations usually associated with the term atheist (Niose) (Keane) (Michael!). With prominent atheists over the last few decades (Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Stephen Fry, Lawrence M. Krauss, Victor Stenger, etc.) tending to be more confrontational the term agnostic has been more palatable to theists as well. Over the years that reluctance to be labeled as an atheist has normally signified a …show more content…
To talk about what something is, is to imply what it is not. Semantics are an important role in a philosophic debate but moreover, they are important for understanding and mitigating so-called "grey areas". It is important to understand that you cannot fall outside of a dichotomy and it is important to have a clear understanding of a position when categorizing information for better understanding society as a