Well I've never liked Merriam-Webster before; I think I've found other places where they got definitions completely wrong. Their definition of "atheist" is also inaccurate, only covering a small percentage of actual atheists ("one who believes there is no deity" as opposed to "one who disbelieves in deities").
Thomas Huxley (who invented the term) explained it thus:
Broadly speaking, agnosticism / gnosticism deals with knowledge (whether we *know* something to be true), and atheism / theism deals with belief (whether we *belief* in the existence of God). The difference between knowledge and belief is very strict. You can deny that you have knowledge of something (agnosticism) yet still believe or disbelieve it, as I do with my agnostic atheism (i.e. I do not believe in Gods, but I don't claim that I know their non-existence to be true).
I'd further criticize the definition on philosophical grounds. There is no midway point between atheism and theism; they are a perfect dichotomy. Either you believe in God, or you don't. If you are "non-committal", then you clearly do not believe in God, at least not in any definitive sense.
The only leeway possible is through apatheism; which is the disregard for belief or disbelief in deities. However, even if these people do not care about professing their belief, or think it unimportant, it does not stop them from having a belief (or disbelief) in the first place. Apatheists are still either believers or non-believers; they just don't care to say which they are (or they profess their belief / non-belief but hold it as unimportant in the way of things).
Thomas Huxley (who invented the term) explained it thus:
Quote:Agnosticism is not a creed but a method, the essence of which lies in the vigorous application of a single principle ...Positively the principle may be expressed as in matters of intellect, do not pretend conclusions are certain that are not demonstrated or demonstrable.
Broadly speaking, agnosticism / gnosticism deals with knowledge (whether we *know* something to be true), and atheism / theism deals with belief (whether we *belief* in the existence of God). The difference between knowledge and belief is very strict. You can deny that you have knowledge of something (agnosticism) yet still believe or disbelieve it, as I do with my agnostic atheism (i.e. I do not believe in Gods, but I don't claim that I know their non-existence to be true).
I'd further criticize the definition on philosophical grounds. There is no midway point between atheism and theism; they are a perfect dichotomy. Either you believe in God, or you don't. If you are "non-committal", then you clearly do not believe in God, at least not in any definitive sense.
The only leeway possible is through apatheism; which is the disregard for belief or disbelief in deities. However, even if these people do not care about professing their belief, or think it unimportant, it does not stop them from having a belief (or disbelief) in the first place. Apatheists are still either believers or non-believers; they just don't care to say which they are (or they profess their belief / non-belief but hold it as unimportant in the way of things).
