agnosticism
English
Etymology
Coined by Thomas Henry Huxley. From a- + gnostic + -ism (see also agnostic).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /æɡˈnɒstɪsɪzəm/
- (General American) IPA(key): /æɡˈnɑstɪsɪzəm/
Audio (Mid-Atlantic US): (file)
Noun
agnosticism (countable and uncountable, plural agnosticisms)
- The view that absolute truth or ultimate certainty is unattainable, especially regarding knowledge not based on experience or perceivable phenomena.
- The view that the existence of God or of all deities is unknown, unknowable, unproven, or unprovable.
- Antonym: antiagnosticism
- Holonyms: epistemology, cosmology, ontology, philosophy
- Coordinate terms: theism, religion, see kinds of religion, theology; atheism, irreligion, irreligiousness; antireligion, antireligiousness, antitheism, transtheism; ignosticism, igtheism; apatheism; eutheism, dystheism; empiricism, science, research
- Doubt, uncertainty, or scepticism regarding the existence of a god or gods.
- 1956, January 31st: Alan Alexander Milne; quoted in:
- 1988: James B. Simpson, Simpson’s Contemporary Quotations, № 4,393 (Houghton Mifflin, →ISBN
- The Old Testament is responsible for more atheism, agnosticism, disbelief — call it what you will — than any book ever written; it has emptied more churches than all the counterattractions of cinema, motor bicycle and golf course.
- (by extension) Doubt, uncertainty, or scepticism regarding any subject of dispute.
- 2009, B. Pontin, “Climate change agnosticism - its meaning and implications”, in Environmental Law and Management[1], volume 21, number 2, →ISSN, archived from the original on 16 November 2018, pages 55–57:
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
view that the existence of a God or gods is unknown, unknowable, unproven, or unprovable
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See also
- Appendix:Glossary of philosophical isms
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French agnosticisme. Equivalent to agnostic + -ism.
Noun
agnosticism n (uncountable)
Declension
| singular only | indefinite | definite |
|---|---|---|
| nominative-accusative | agnosticism | agnosticismul |
| genitive-dative | agnosticism | agnosticismului |
| vocative | agnosticismule | |
Swedish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aɡnɔstɪsˈɪsm/
Noun
agnosticism c
Declension
| nominative | genitive | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| singular | indefinite | agnosticism | agnosticisms |
| definite | agnosticismen | agnosticismens | |
| plural | indefinite | — | — |
| definite | — | — |