agnosticism

Home > ... > Philosophy and Religion > Philosophy > Philosophy, Terms and Concepts > ...

agnosticism

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

agnosticism , form of skepticism that holds that the existence of God cannot be logically proved or disproved. Among prominent agnostics have been Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, and T. H. Huxley (who coined the word agnostic in 1869). Immanuel Kant was an agnostic who argued that belief in divinity can rest only on faith. Agnosticism is not to be confused with atheism , which asserts that there is no God.

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-agnostic" title="Facts and information about agnosticism">agnosticism</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"agnosticism." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"agnosticism." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (November 12, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-agnostic.html

"agnosticism." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-agnostic.html

Learn more about citation styles

agnosticism

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | 2000 | | © The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

agnosticism. As commonly understood, the view that we cannot know whether there is a God or not.

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O95-agnosticism" title="Facts and information about agnosticism">agnosticism</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "agnosticism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "agnosticism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (November 12, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-agnosticism.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "agnosticism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved November 12, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-agnosticism.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article Toxic agnosticism.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
Magazine article from: New Internationalist; 8/1/2003
Free Article Commentary.
Magazine article from: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review; 7/1/2007
Free Article Contact.
Magazine article from: The Humanist; 9/1/1997

Facts and information from other sites

Related topics

  Edit this list

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

SHERMER'S AGNOSTICISM.
Magazine article from: Skeptic (Altadena, CA); 3/22/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...he presents a challenging case for agnosticism in which he advances substantially two...make a case for being agnostic about agnosticism. It would seem best to begin with an...of what Shermer means by the word "agnosticism." There are two principal meanings...
Shermer's agnosticism: A philosophical examination
Magazine article from: Skeptic; 1/1/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...he presents a challenging case for agnosticism in which he advances substantially two...make a case for being agnostic about agnosticism It would seem best to begin with an...of what Shermer means by the word "agnosticism" There are two principal meanings of...
Agnosticism versus Christianity. (excerpt from 19th century essay)
Newspaper article from: Free Inquiry; 3/22/1998; ; 700+ words ; ...their proper denomination. . . . Agnosticism is not properly described as a negative...justifies that certainty. This is what Agnosticism asserts; and in my opinion it is all that is essential to Agnosticism. . . . It was inevitable that a...
A kernel of doubt. (agnosticism)
Magazine article from: Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute; 12/1/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...attitude was expressed by the term 'agnosticism', which he first used in 1869 at a...century. McCosh (1884) compared the agnosticism of Hume and Huxley, Ward (1899) devoted...almost purely Western view of the topic. Agnosticism stands apart from atheism, which asserts...
The Political Agnosticism of Free and Open Source Software and the Inadvertent Politics of Contrast
Magazine article from: Anthropological Quarterly; 7/1/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...political intention; nonetheless, I argue that the political agnosticism of FOSS shapes the expressive life and force of its informal...It is this practice that I refer to here as "political agnosticism." The purported political neutrality of FOSS, inscribed...
Platform agnosticism.(EDITOR'S Message)(Editorial)
Magazine article from: Orthodontic Products; 3/1/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...from an IMAX movie screen to an iPod. In short, platform agnosticism is an emphasis on the content rather than the container...clinical side, a better term for what I mean might be appliance agnosticism. Every issue of this magazine contains articles that tout...
Would journalist David Staples please stop imposing his agnosticism on the rest of us.
Magazine article from: The Report Newsmagazine; 11/20/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...wrong. The technical name for this philosophical position is agnosticism. Dirk is wrong because he claims to have answers, to know...Staples has two habits that will surely prove fatal to his agnosticism. He observes, and he reasons. We'd be willing to bet...
Can Agnosticism Improve American Public Life?(Brief Article)
Newspaper article from: Free Inquiry; 9/22/2001; ; 700+ words ; ...not only be the most correct in our time, but also the most ethical. Until the American public faces up to the fact that agnosticism is an equally sincere answer to the great religious question of our lives, and until the American public comes to recognize...
Gould v. Huxley agnosticism
Magazine article from: Skeptic; 1/1/1999; ; 448 words ; ...better society and human condition is the application of reason and self-correction in both areas" Huxley wrote in 1889 ("Agnosticism and Christianity" The Nineteenth Century, 25:937-8): This [agnostic] principle may be stated in various ways...
COLUMN: Thank god for agnosticism
News Wire article from: University Wire; 5/22/2001; ; 700+ words ; ...None of it makes sense to me, and modern dogma holds no place in my life. So I have chosen to believe in nothing, save agnosticism. I do not dismiss the notion of there being a god or gods, I just don't accept any human interpretation of such. As...

Pictures from Google Image Search

Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture

For students and teachers!

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Popular on Newser:

Physicists: Bird From the Future Damaged Collider

(11/11/2009 10:50:03 PM)

Stewart Catches Hannity Faking Video Footage

(11/11/2009 1:44:01 PM)

Lou Dobbs Leaves CNN

(11/12/2009 11:33:00 AM)

Hannity to Daily Show : Yep, We Screwed Up

(11/12/2009 3:18:02 AM)

Porn Doesn't Have to Ruin Sex

(11/11/2009 7:57:01 PM)