The fundamental question of whether there is a creator, that is, a god, has been asked since the beginning of humanity. The answer of many people to such a question is simply yes or no, but there are also those who give the answer we cannot know. According to the philosophical view of agnosticism, we as humans cannot scientifically prove either the existence of a god or the absence of a god, so the concept of god is obscure.
Many people think of agnosticism as a religion or a belief system, but agnosticism is actually just a philosophical view. Although it started with skeptical philosophers before Christ, its basic definition was made only in the 19th century. Of course, over the years, it has been enriched with many different ideas and sub-thoughts have been formed. Let’s take a closer look at questions like what is agnosticism and what does it stand for.
For those who don’t know, let’s explain briefly; What is agnosticism?
Agnosticism, also called agnosticism in Turkish; It is a philosophical view that holds that the existence or non-existence of a god, gods or such divine beings cannot be scientifically proven by humans. So according to agnosticism we cannot say that there is a god or there is no god because we cannot prove it and therefore we can never know for sure.
There are actually three basic phrases that define agnosticism differently:
- Agnosticism; It is a philosophical view that argues that god or supernatural beings cannot be scientifically proven and can never be known because they are not an observable structure.
- Agnosticism; It is a philosophical view that argues that the human mind cannot find enough rational justifications for the existence or non-existence of God.
- Agnosticism; It is the philosophical view that argues that beyond matter and the first existential cause can never be known and therefore it is unnecessary to think about it.
Okay, we get it, but what exactly does agnosticism advocate?
There are many different definitions of agnosticism, but we can sum up what they all have in common in one word: we don’t know. So agnosticism says; We cannot scientifically prove the existence of God, we cannot scientifically prove the absence of God, nor can we observe them, so the concept of God is literally an unknown.
More radical agnostics argue that it is unnecessary to think about it, since they accept that God is an absolute unknown. There is no need to bother with this, as we can never prove the existence or non-existence of God, even if we think about it for thousands of years.
Agnosticism has been enriched with many different ideas over the years and many different sub-views have emerged from this basic idea. For this reason, we cannot say that all agnostics support the same thing, but in its most basic form, the idea of obscurity is considered common in all sub-views.
Agnosticism and atheism are not the same thing:
The philosophical view of agnosticism and the philosophical view of atheism are often confused with each other, but there is a fundamental difference between them. Atheism unequivocally argues that God does not exist or even cannot exist. In other words, atheism categorically rejects God. Agnosticism does not say that there is no god, but it does not say that there is.
Of course, if you cannot say that there is a god when we look through the eyes of a believer, you are an unbeliever and therefore you are an atheist in theory. In fact, some studies consider agnosticism as irreligious philosophies along with atheism. In some studies, however, agnosticism is considered neutral.
If you ask whether agnosticism is a religion, it is not:
The basis of religious beliefs is belief in a god, gods or divine beings. However, agnosticism does not say that there is a god, and therefore it is not a religion. Agnosticism is actually a basic philosophical view that has been enriched with many different ideas over the years and divided into sub-views. Agnosticism is neither a religion nor a belief system, just a thought.
So what are the types of agnosticism?
- agnostic theism
- agnostic atheism
- weak agnosticism
Agnostic theism:
An agnostic cannot say whether there is a god or not, but an agnostic theist argues that a god is more likely to exist. A deist says that god exists and existence can be understood, while an agnostic theist says that god exists but that it is impossible to understand or prove his existence. In summary, according to agnostic theism, there is a god, but we cannot prove it.
Agnostic atheism:
The agnostic atheist also does not say for sure that there is no god or that there is, but he argues that the probability that god does not exist is much higher. According to agnostic atheism, there is no god, but there is no way to prove it.
Weak agnosticism:
It is also possible to say hopeful agnosticism for weak agnosticism. A weak agnostic does not say that there is no god or that there is a god, but he does not say that it is completely unknown. In other words, if you show a weak agnostic proof of the existence or non-existence of god, he will be silent, he says, maybe brother.
How did agnosticism arise? Let’s take a brief look at its history:
- Thomas Henry Huxley
The word agnostic, which was formed by combining the ancient Greek words with the negative suffix an and gnōstikós, which means knowing, means ignorant in its roughest definition. It was translated into Turkish from the French word agnostique.
The emergence of agnosticism as thought, if not as a concept, dates back to the 5th century BC. Skeptical philosophers such as Protagoras who lived during this period are agnostic in thought, even if they do not explain it as a concept. The Indian philosopher Sanjaya Belatthaputta, who lived at the same time, also wrote agnostic texts about the existence of gods.
The person who defined agnosticism as a complete concept with its name was the English naturalist Thomas Henry Huxley. Huxley made a speech at the Metaphysical Society meeting he attended in 1869 and rejected all mystical knowledge. In the same speech, he defined his thinking as agnosticism and himself as an agnostic. He is also one of the staunchest proponents of the theory of evolution.
Answering questions such as what is agnosticism, which says that we cannot scientifically prove the existence or non-existence of God, and what does it stand for, we briefly talked about its historical process and intellectual infrastructure.
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