In a post from Saturday, Til Death Do Us Part, a discussion ensued in the comments section about atheism and agnosticism. Of the two, I tend to consider myself the former, though Baroness Radon suggested the latter! So, to be more precise, I decided to look up both words in the dictionary.
As it turns out, I am both -- an agnostic atheist with a philosophic Taoist strain thrown in for good measure!
An atheist is someone who doesn't believe in a god or deity. I believe in neither and I contend there is no good evidence to suggest that either exists.
An agnostic is someone who believes it is impossible to know whether a god or deity exists. I firmly believe such information is impossible to know.
Ah, but as Baroness Radon points out, I accept the notion of Tao! Yes, this is true. I accept the idea that there is a universal principle or thread that underlies existence. In my mind's eye, however, I don't view this principle as an entity. For me, it is nothing more than the process that everything SEEMS to follow.
But I can't prove it. I don't think anybody can prove it just like I don't think anybody can prove there is or is not a god.
So, to sum up. I don't believe in god -- the one you might believe in or the god anyone else might believe in. I do accept the vague notion that there is a process that underlies the cosmos, but I don't think it is possible to know such things with ANY degree of certainty. And so, I define myself as a Philosophic Taoist Agnostic Atheist (who also happens to be an unapologetic Eco-Socialist).
Clear enough?
As it turns out, I am both -- an agnostic atheist with a philosophic Taoist strain thrown in for good measure!
An atheist is someone who doesn't believe in a god or deity. I believe in neither and I contend there is no good evidence to suggest that either exists.
An agnostic is someone who believes it is impossible to know whether a god or deity exists. I firmly believe such information is impossible to know.
Ah, but as Baroness Radon points out, I accept the notion of Tao! Yes, this is true. I accept the idea that there is a universal principle or thread that underlies existence. In my mind's eye, however, I don't view this principle as an entity. For me, it is nothing more than the process that everything SEEMS to follow.
But I can't prove it. I don't think anybody can prove it just like I don't think anybody can prove there is or is not a god.
So, to sum up. I don't believe in god -- the one you might believe in or the god anyone else might believe in. I do accept the vague notion that there is a process that underlies the cosmos, but I don't think it is possible to know such things with ANY degree of certainty. And so, I define myself as a Philosophic Taoist Agnostic Atheist (who also happens to be an unapologetic Eco-Socialist).
Clear enough?
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ReplyDeleteOh that pesky Baroness.
ReplyDeleteStephen Mitchell renders v25 line 4 of TTC as:
ReplyDeleteHe who defines himself
can't know who he really is.
Just a thought.
You can never really see your own face. You can describe the mirror reflection, but you can't actually see your own face.
Hey, if a compatriot can't be pesky, who can? :-)
ReplyDeleteIndeed!
ReplyDeleteIn my case, I can't even get a good reading on my own mind half the time.
ReplyDelete