The ideas behind both, which I'm not endorsing--I'm just reporting the idea of them, is that one has a belief either that there is or is not a god, but one would also say that whether there is or is not a god is unknowable.

Why you'd have a belief about x if you think x's status is unknowable, I don't know. But apparently that describes some people.

It might be that some folks have wonky views of knowledge, though, where they won't say that they know something if it's not proven or certain. Why they don't realize that no empirical claim is provable, again I don't know.

Gnostic == knower, a knowing person. Greek word, Gnost is to know (or something).

In Greek, the beginning "a" negates the word's meaning. Like, pathetic (feeling) -- apathetic.(unfeeling). Gnostic (knowing) agnostic (not knowing).

Theist - believes in a god, a supernatural higher being.

Atheist - again, "a" being a negator, an atheist believes there is no God, no supernatural power.

Agnostic atheist -- someone who claims no knowledge over whether god exists or not, but believes there is no god.

Agnostic theist -- someone who claims no knowledge whether any gods exits or not, but believes in god(s) nevertheless.

Both agnosticisms cling to the possibility of God existing, which seems to me something the agnostic should remain agnostic about.

To my knowledge, agnosticism posits that it is impossible to know whether or not God exists. I would assume that agnostic theists assume that God exists, but have doubt and that agnostic atheists assume that God does not exist, but don't disallow for the possibility that ae does.

I don't want to be divisive, but I kind of see agnosticism as just not quite going all the way with atheism. It's more common because it doesn't quite carry the same baggage.

Being said, there are really sincere agnostics. Plenty of people simply think that it impossible to know as to whether or not God exists.

ae — thewonder

Maybe 'AE' for God, but 'ae' elsewhere is some kind of a diphthong thing or something.

We can't really show invisible realms being so or not so. This does, though, show that no one can ever be blamed for not accepting the invisible realm.

Well, since I'm not going to make anyone type out the character they won't be smooshed together.

could someone care to explain the concept of agnostic theists and agnostic atheists because personally i don't think the concepts of agnosticism and the latter are compatible — Philosophical Script

Do you believe in god(s)?

Are you sure?

The first question tells us if you are theist or atheist (or a third type of person with strange grammar understanding that thinks they are better than the rest in some way).

The second one tells us if you are agnostic or not.

I don't want to be divisive, but I kind of see agnosticism as just not quite going all the way with atheism. It's more common because it doesn't quite carry the same baggage. — thewonder

i don't think agnosticism is explicitly related to atheism as you insinuate...being agnostic, i honestly think is just questioning both camps. Can we know for sure that there aren't any deities out there, and if we can, how?on the other hand can we be so certain of the existence of god(s) out there without substantial proof?

The first question tells us if you are theist or atheist (or a third type of person with strange grammar understanding that thinks they are better than the rest in some way). — ZhouBoTong

The 'third type of person' is supposed to be the agnostic fyi, and i don't think agnostics think they are better than the other folks, what they're simply stating is that; atheists can't be 100% certain that deities don't exist, how can they even prove that? On the other hand theists can't be so certain of the existence of deities either, since there hasn't been substantial evidence to prove so

Why you'd have a belief about x if you think x's status is unknowable, I don't know. But apparently that describes some people. — Terrapin Station

this is what I've been questioning all along, why have a belief about something whose state you think is unknowable?

Both agnosticisms cling to the possibility of God existing, which seems to me something the agnostic should remain agnostic about. — NOS4A2

No, an agnostic, by virtue of being an agnostic, isn't committed to the existence of God being possible, just that they don't know whether or not God exists.

To say they don’t know whether god exists is to cling to the possibility that god exists. It’s not possible for god to exist, therefor I know god doesn’t exist.

To say they don’t know whether god exists is to cling to the possibility that god exists. — NOS4A2

No, that doesn't follow. You either don't know what agnosticism is or you're bad at logic. An agnostic is not committed to the possibility that God exists.

So an agnostic doesn’t think it is possible a god might exist?

So an agnostic doesn’t think it is possible a god might exist? — NOS4A2

Thank you for confirming that it's the latter, i.e. you're bad at logic.

Can’t answer the question?

Can’t answer the question? — NOS4A2

Can't figure out the answer from my replies?

Does an agnostic believe it is possible a god might exist? A simple yes or no will suffice.

Does an agnostic believe it is possible a god might exist? A simple yes or no will suffice. — NOS4A2

I can't give a simple "yes" or "no" to a question like that, because it is like asking whether an agnostic likes Marmite.

Are you an agnostic?

atheists can't be 100% certain that deities don't exist, — Philosophical Script

In terms of psychological certainty, I'm 100% certain that no deity exists. It's not about proof. Empirical claims are not provable. I see religious claims as absurd, arbitrary nonsense, the same as any random nonsensical idea that we could brainstorm. For example, if someone were to claim that there are pink bunny rabbits floating around Jupiter's atmosphere, wearing smoking jackets, sitting on big puffy leather couches (which are floating right along with them), reading philosophy books, etc. It's just random nonsense--maybe fun as a surreal fantasy, but I'm not about to think for one moment that it could be the case because it's obviously just goofy crap we're making up.

Does an agnostic believe it is possible a god might exist? A simple yes or no will suffice. — NOS4A2

He's saying they can be agnostic on whether it's possible, too. That's different than believing either that it's possible or not possible.

Are you an agnostic? — NOS4A2

Beside the point.

He's saying they can be agnostic on whether it's possible, too. That's different than believing either that it's possible or not possible.

How can one remain agnostic if he doesn’t believe in the possibility of a god existing? That’s what I’m having trouble with. It seems to me that in order to say “I don’t know whether god exists” relies on that underlying assumption.

I just want to ask an agnostic if he believes it is possible for a god to exist or not.

How can one remain agnostic if he doesn’t believe in the possibility of a god existing? — NOS4A2

Because one doesn't know if it's possible or not for a god to exist. So you're not believing that's it's not possible, but you're not believing that it's possible either. You're, well, agnostic on that issue.

Because one doesn't know if it's possible or not for a god to exist. So you're not believing that's it's not possible, but you're not believing that it's possible either. You're, well, agnostic on that issue.

Then he must hold on to the possibility of the possibility of a god existing. It’s an infinite regression.

How can one remain agnostic if he doesn’t believe in the possibility of a god existing? That’s what I’m having trouble with. It seems to me that in order to say “I don’t know whether god exists” relies on that underlying assumption. — NOS4A2

Not believing doesn't imply believing the contrary.

Imagine someone asking "Is my car parked on Main Street?"

And then the person we ask says, "I don't know . . . I don't even know if it's possible for your car to be parked on Main Street (do you have a car? Is there a Main Street where you are or were for it to be parked on? etc.)"

Not only do they not know if the car is parked on Main Street, they don't even have a belief whether it's possible that the person has a car parked on Main Street.

Then he must hold on to the possibility of the possibility of a god existing. — NOS4A2

They simply don't have an opinion on it. Maybe they don't have enough information, or they think it's not something that can be known, etc.