[轉貼]What is so humble about agnosticism?
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http://pyridine.wordpress.com/2009/09/05/what-is-so-humble-about-agnosticism/
The New Atheists have attracted criticisms from both sides. The conservatives
chide Richard Dawkins (for example) for his lack of sophistication in
theology. The liberals mock him for his lack of sophistication in philosophy.
However, neither camp has produced any advanced theology/philosophy to
support the existence of a creator. Let’s face it. All those objections come
down to only one moral judgement: the New Atheists are too arrogant.
It is often claimed that agnosticism is the more honest and more humble
position to take. It is said that since we do not possess perfect knowledge,
the best we can do is to acknowledge that we don’t know if God exists.
Anyone who makes such a claim must then be prepared to grant that we cannot
be sure if Eric Clapton (or Eric Cartman for the matter) is literally God.
However, 1. Surely God can produce something more impressive than Layla? 2.
This position insists that any whimsical idea about God that anyone conjures
up from thin air, no matter how silly, trivial, or absurd, has a chance of
being right and therefore should be taken seriously. And all the deep
thinkings demanded by this open mindedness predictably lead to the conclusion
that we cannot be sure. There is nothing humble about that. Our intellect is
highly limited. It is precisely because of our limitations that any theory
proposed, even by the most brilliant among us, is most likely wrong. It is
precisely for the sake of humbleness that we must reject a hypothesis unless
it is supported by strong evidence. The anthropomorphic concept of God is a
primitive idea most likely invented by unsophisticated minds. Without strong
supporting evidences, there is no chance that myths created besides the camp
fires of nomadic cultures just so happen to touch upon the deep mysteries of
the universe. Those who are reluctant to reject them are giving too much
credit to the human mind. To grant that anything we can think of has a fair
chance of being correct is hubris. I say it is more humble to be an atheist.
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