Chris Olson - SunPS <Chrisf.Olson at Sun.COM> writes on 27 November 2002 at 08:55:03 -0800 > > agnostic: > > A. n. One who holds that the existence of anything beyond and behind > > material phenomena is unknown and (so far as can be judged) > > unknowable, and especially that a First Cause and an unseen world are > > subjects of which we know nothing. > > [Suggested by Prof. Huxley at a party held previous to the formation > > of the now defunct Metaphysical Society, at Mr. James Knowles's house > > on Clapham Common, one evening in 1869, in my hearing. He took it from > > St. Paul's mention of the alter to 'the Unknown God.' R.H Hutton in > > letter 13 Mar. 1881.] > > > > Atheist is much simpler: > > > > 1. One who denies or disbelieves the existence of a God. > > > > And dates to at least 1568. > > Hey! Does this mean Agnostisism was the next evolutionary > step from Atheism? (What? I can hope for a superior outlook on > life from my atheist brothers and sisters, can't I? Does that > make me evil?) <grin> Looks like it in some ways to me. Atheism denies god, Agnosticism denies the whole non-material world *and* asserts the importance of knowability. -- David Dyer-Bennet, dd-b at dd-b.net / http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/ John Dyer-Bennet 1915-2002 Memorial Site http://john.dyer-bennet.net Dragaera mailing lists, see http://dragaera.info