Knowledge, belief & agnosticism (Agnosticism)

by dhw, Monday, March 17, 2008, 12:32 (5882 days ago) @ George Jelliss

Thanks for the excellent cartoon, George. Unfortunately, it preaches to the converted. So far as I know, nobody on this website believes in miracles! - I quoted Dawkins to illustrate the importance of abiogenesis for the atheist argument, not to stress the improbability of the theory, though there is no harm done in reminding us how improbable Dawkins admits it may be. - "Where does an inner conviction come from?" I find your answer helpful and revealing. You have attempted to analyse a process that is extremely difficult for all of us to understand, precisely because as you say there are subconscious influences at work. You conclude: "Ultimately basing belief on wish fulfilment or authority must take second place to scientifically reproducible and communicable results." I doubt if any of our current contributors would disagree, but it is for this very reason that some of us remain agnostic and wonder how rationalists can commit themselves to beliefs that are not underpinned by scientific evidence. Most theists that I know openly admit that their beliefs demand a leap of faith (which an agnostic cannot take). The inner conviction that life came about through Dawkins' "spontaneous arising by chance" ... i.e. there is or was no intelligence/designer/ God/demi-urge, or whatever you like to call it, behind the process ... has no scientific evidence to support it. In fact, many scientists admit to being baffled. To believe in it (as opposed to agnostic neutrality) requires an act of faith. Strangely, you yourself do not have faith that a solution will be found, and yet as an atheist you still believe in it. Perhaps, then, there are unscientific, subconscious influences at work here too? - Maybe I should add that people's beliefs are, of course, their own affair. It's when belief turns to intolerance that it becomes a problem.