RE: Your stance on Hard Atheism
October 29, 2014 at 4:15 pm
(This post was last modified: October 29, 2014 at 4:34 pm by Bibliofagus.)
(October 29, 2014 at 3:40 pm)Parkers Tan Wrote:(October 29, 2014 at 2:59 pm)Bibliofagus Wrote: That's the thing. Ever heard anyone claim he's an agnostic regarding anything other than the existence of god? I think I haven't, and certainly not in the numbers we atheists do it. Does agnostic really mean 'i'm not sure about anything really' while in practice it is only used to describe a position of knowledge of the very specific claim a god exists?
I have. I've heard it used in the global warming debate ("I'm an agnostic about whether it's man-made").
Interesting. Thank you.
Would you say this helps the position of the people who - do - say it is manmade? Like we atheists do? Let's face it: The consequence of not believing in the god many of our fellow christian po(e)sters claim to have personal experience with - on an atheist discussion forum in particular - means you are saying it is man made. Many of us actually do so in these discussions.
(October 29, 2014 at 3:40 pm)Parkers Tan Wrote:(October 29, 2014 at 2:59 pm)Bibliofagus Wrote: Sure: It's intellectually honest to claim agnosticism. When pressed for answers on specific questions on the subject I fall in the category of agnostic atheist myself. But I don't label myself that way up front. Just like I don't label myself agnostic on other stuff I 'only' have as much knowledge about to consistently act in my or my loved ones best interests.
On an atheist forum, "agnostic" is a useful modifier insofar as it spells out a specific position.
I'm saying it's too goddamn specific. Especially here. To me it's like starting a scientific article on the origins of life with the text: 'well, we can't be sure about anything, after all god or the devil could be tricking us by leaving fake fossils all over the place, but we believe we found out etc.' It's like throwing out 10 miles of line when catching a fish, while you don't really need to.