tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post2262892675921418205..comments2023-09-02T07:14:49.753-04:00Comments on Atheism And The City: Agnosticism Vs. Atheism Part 2: Levels of DisbeliefUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-40553841918619559832014-02-02T10:53:55.625-05:002014-02-02T10:53:55.625-05:00I don't disagree with you on some parts. Thoug...I don't disagree with you on some parts. Though I think agnostics technically are atheists because they do not actively believe in god. Agnosticism is an epistemic position, you are right on that, and I included that in my scale. How would a scale look if you made it?The Thinkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303015383137218932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-59837984328487121422014-02-02T02:16:22.300-05:002014-02-02T02:16:22.300-05:00I do not believe your "scale of belief" ...I do not believe your "scale of belief" is an accurate illustration of agnosticism; frankly, placing agnosticism so close to atheism betrays a severe misunderstanding of what agnosticism even is. Agnosticism makes a claim regarding knowledge - that one cannot have the knowledge of God's existence or God's non-existence. Both atheism and theism are not based off of knowledge but rather are equally leaps of faith; they are beliefs. Whether one's worldview is shaped by fundamentalist mysticism or scientific fanaticism, they both require presuppositions in order to really hold any water. That is why different worldviews clash in the first place - they each have certain notions that they rely on. The reason why agnosticism is of its own category (and why it should not be so easily paired with atheism) is because it does not hold any presuppositions at all. The brand of New Atheism that has become so popular wields science just as Christians hold God; just as Christians hold the presupposition that God exists and created all of existence, atheists hold the presuppositions that one can rely on one's own perception in gathering information about reality and that the laws of physics will continue to work tomorrow. The presuppositions of science are simple, and don't get me wrong, I love and trust science. When it comes to comparing philosophies and worldviews though, one cannot deny that ultimately, every worldview is in the same predicament. In this post, you implied that atheism is the default worldview (particularly in that you mentioned everyone who does not truly believe in God must be an atheist) - frankly, this simply isn't true. I would wager that agnosticism is the default view; accepting that we cannot truly know and understand our existence and reality seems much more logical to me than claiming belief in anything. With that said, beliefs are not totally incompatible with an agnostic position. One can be an agnostic theist just as much as one can be an agnostic atheist because agnosticism only makes claims about knowledge, not belief. Any Christian or atheist that accepts that one cannot truly have knowledge of God's existence or non-existence essentially is an agnostic.<br /><br />Regarding beliefs in general, fanaticism is a bad thing. I have seen among the New Atheists a type of fundamentalism that is just as bad as the religious fundamentalists. Stay away from this mindset; while beliefs can be used to justify the worst in humanity, it can also bring out the best because ultimately, what we believe reflects who we are. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00706920929516948220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-48102271449442258262013-07-19T20:01:27.421-04:002013-07-19T20:01:27.421-04:00Congratulations on being a strong theist. I think ...Congratulations on being a strong theist. I think it depends on what kind of specific god you believe in. Certain specific gods I think can be disproved with logic, check out my evolutionary argument against god: http://www.atheismandthecity.com/2013/05/my-evolutionary-argument-against-god.htmlThe Thinkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14303015383137218932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7110460687773644977.post-64411205333428683472013-07-19T14:32:10.387-04:002013-07-19T14:32:10.387-04:00Congratulations. This is definitely the best taxo...Congratulations. This is definitely the best taxonomy of the range of human beliefs regarding God that I have ever seen. Since the existence of God cannot be disproved, my default position is that there is a God!Frank Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12118227330790264088noreply@blogger.com