The Five Principles of Middle Way Philosophy - Living Experientially in a World of Uncertainty - Robert M. Ellis
c. Strong, not Weak, Agnosticism
The Five Principles of Middle Way Philosophy - Living Experientially in a World of Uncertainty - Robert M. Ellis
Robert M. Ellis [+]
Middle Way Society
Description
Contrary to the philosophical assumptions that dominate, ‘strong’ agnosticism (facing up to the state of not knowing) is far more provisional than ‘weak’ agnosticism (not knowing yet, perhaps in future). If the ‘knowing’ of weak agnosticism were to actually occur it would require massive absolute assumptions that the strong agnostic avoids through greater decisiveness. An analogy with addiction may make this clearer. This topsy-turvy cultural attitude to agnosticism results from a widespread obsession with discontinuous ‘knowledge’, and has so far prevented agnosticism being applied to all the other issues (beyond God’s existence) where it needs to be applied.