It's interesting because while I agree with the sentiments you express regarding emotional atheism vs. intellectual agnosticism, I'd do a universal swap on "think" and "believe" -- probably because in my hierarchy of knowledge thinking comes closer to knowing than does believing. Stubborn beliefs persist in the face of contradictory evidence, and I'm arrogant enough about my thought processes to regard my whims as close to truth.
The wimpiness of agnosticism has been stated many times, usually to point out that saying, "I don't think we can prove or disprove the existence of God," isn't really an answer to the question, "Do you believe in God?" I know that Douglas Adams in particular was forceful (http://www.americanatheist.org/win98-99/T2/silverman.html) on this subject, saying, "In England we seem to have drifted from vague wishy-washy Anglicanism to vague wishy-washy Agnosticism - both of which I think betoken a desire not to have to think about things too much." I think Stephen Jay Gould preferred the term agnostic specifically because it had reconcilliatory aspects; and, indeed, T.H. Huxley coined, and Darwin adopted, the word at a time when atheist was being used interchangeably with Satanist and Mahometan.
You should do the meme. I'm sure that there are parts of this I have left fallow that you'd cultivate.
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Re: Ah,
Date: 2004-02-02 05:45 pm (UTC)The wimpiness of agnosticism has been stated many times, usually to point out that saying, "I don't think we can prove or disprove the existence of God," isn't really an answer to the question, "Do you believe in God?" I know that Douglas Adams in particular was forceful (http://www.americanatheist.org/win98-99/T2/silverman.html) on this subject, saying, "In England we seem to have drifted from vague wishy-washy Anglicanism to vague wishy-washy Agnosticism - both of which I think betoken a desire not to have to think about things too much." I think Stephen Jay Gould preferred the term agnostic specifically because it had reconcilliatory aspects; and, indeed, T.H. Huxley coined, and Darwin adopted, the word at a time when atheist was being used interchangeably with Satanist and Mahometan.
You should do the meme. I'm sure that there are parts of this I have left fallow that you'd cultivate.