Is agnosticism ludicrous?
First, this came about from the following Facebook comment:
“Agnosticism is a ludicrous position to occupy. One can only lead their life as an atheist or a theist. To believe in the existence of a god, one would have to act continually as though god exists. One cannot act today as if a god exists and then tomorrow as if a god does not exist. Popularly speaking, agnostics live their lives as atheists, and therefore, they are effectively atheists.”
Answer: Agnosticism isn’t just about religion. At its core, agnostics neither accept beliefs without evidence nor dismiss them due to a lack of evidence. In “30 Philosophers,” I categorize agnostics into two types: apathetic and explorative. Apathetic agnostics deem questions like the existence of ghosts irrelevant, while explorative agnostics remain curious.
And here’s the kicker, we are all apathetic agnostics. We have to be. Our taking in of information is guided by apathetic agnosticism, which serves as a navigational compass keeping us more focused on the empirical and rational. Together, this is how the formation, evolution, and even the retirement of ideas occurs.
For more on categorizing ideas, take the deep dive: The Idea of Ideas.
