(n.) That doctrine which, professing ignorance, neither asserts nor denies.
(n.) The doctrine that the existence of a personal Deity, an unseen world, etc., can be neither proved nor disproved, because of the necessary limits of the human mind (as sometimes charged upon Hamilton and Mansel), or because of the insufficiency of the evidence furnished by physical and physical data, to warrant a positive conclusion (as taught by the school of Herbert Spencer); -- opposed alike dogmatic skepticism and to dogmatic theism.
Example Sentences:
(1) There can’t be something, someone that could fix this and chooses not to.” Years of agnosticism and an open attitude to religious beliefs thrust under the bus, acknowledging the shame that comes from sitting down with those the world forgot.
(2) Individually, they stood to declare their loyalty to the throne or to profess their monarchical agnosticism.
(3) Brexit: how a fringe idea took hold of the Tory party | Matthew d’Ancona Read more But Cameron was committed to a public position of agnosticism until the renegotiation was complete.
(4) I move for less censorship of "offensive" material, not more; more mocking of every religion and of atheism and its drippy twin, agnosticism, in front of which I plant my knee.
(5) To put it bluntly ‘doing something’ about global warming gathered strong political momentum in Australia.” Howard was full of praise for Tony Abbott for challenging what had “seemed to be the consensus” on the issue, saying – with a clear sense of approval – that Australians had now “settled into a state of sustained agnosticism … Of course the climate is changing.
(6) For years the population of US Catholics has gradually declined , according to researchers, in line with a broader trend of Americans walking away from religious institutions in favor of atheism, agnosticism and, especially, a category of “no affiliation”.
(7) Oddly, though, my gradual loss of faith and shift to agnosticism was counterbalanced with a growing appreciation for the positive source of meaning and empowerment that faith, spirituality, and collective religious practice can be in people's lives.
(8) AR: And in terms of the conflict between Darwin coming to a point of at least agnosticism from being religious, and Emma retaining her religion, how do you develop that sort of conflict between the two of you?
(9) The lessons on atheism, agnosticism and humanism for thousands of primary-school pupils in Ireland will be drawn up by Atheist Ireland and multi-denominational school provider Educate Together, in an education system that the Catholic church hierarchy has traditionally dominated.
(10) In Part I of this essay, I assess the fairness and cogency of three broad criticisms raised against 'principlism' as an approach: (1) that principlism, as an exercise in applied ethics, is insufficiently attentive to the dialectical relations between ethical theory and mortal practice; (2) that principlism fails to offer a systematic account of the principles of non-maleficence, beneficence, respect for autonomy, and justice; and (3) that principlism, as a version of moral pluralism, is fatally flawed by its theoretical agnosticism.
(11) (My own beliefs tend to veer towards agnosticism, with a healthy side of Buddhism.)
(12) Church of England = 33% Catholicism = 10% Other Christian = 9% Islam = 3% Hinduism = 2% Judaism = 1% Other religion = 3% Agnosticism = 17% Atheism = 21% Do you actively practise your religion, eg you attend regular religious services?
(13) Despite his own agnosticism, the vernacular "sorrow songs" became the privileged vehicle for expressing "the deep religious feeling of the real Negro heart" - the soul ofblack experience.
(14) Howard was forced to, at least temporarily, disavow his personal agnosticism by public opinion, which had been influenced by recent weather events.
Skepticism
Definition:
(n.) An undecided, inquiring state of mind; doubt; uncertainty.
(n.) The doctrine that no fact or principle can be certainly known; the tenet that all knowledge is uncertain; Pyrrohonism; universal doubt; the position that no fact or truth, however worthy of confidence, can be established on philosophical grounds; critical investigation or inquiry, as opposed to the positive assumption or assertion of certain principles.
(n.) A doubting of the truth of revelation, or a denial of the divine origin of the Christian religion, or of the being, perfections, or truth of God.
Example Sentences:
(1) Far from being depressed, the audience turned into a heaving mass of furious geeks, who roared their anger and vowed that they would not rest until they had brought down the rotten system The "skeptic movement" (always spelt with "k" by the way, to emphasise their distinctiveness) had come to Singh's aid.
(2) We intend to treat claims from the most powerful factions with skepticism, not reverence.
(3) But the question of what Wray will do after his tenure as FBI director may prompt some skepticism, the former agent said.
(4) Of these therapists, 78% reported that they had encountered intense skepticism from fellow professionals.
(5) Skeptics have disregarded that even lyophilized preparations of demonstrated activity will lose effect when stored above -80 degrees C. This explains some inconsistencies of results and difficulties in repetition.
(6) These stories play on half-truths, like the presence of far-right nationalists at Maidan, and reasonable doubt, like skepticism of western meddling.
(7) Louis Pasteur's vaccine against rabies, introduced 100 years ago, was greeted by the American medical community with a mixture of praise and skepticism.
(8) But first it has to get to the floor of the House of Representatives – where the leadership, which allowed a floor vote on Amash's amendment this summer, appears to take a more skeptical view.
(9) But the euro-skeptic outcome of the European elections posed risks to the single market and the economic recovery was "neither robust nor sufficiently strong".
(10) Outside of the potential abuses, there are other reasons to be skeptical of the cheerleading around the housing recovery.
(11) Some argue that the public accepts that modern medicine is effective, and others say that as a whole the public is skeptical about its value.
(12) PB Everything goes right for the Chargers You can forgive San Diego Chargers fans for being skeptical about their team's chances, and not just because their team only had a 1.6% chance of making the playoffs around Week 13 .
(13) Bradley argues that, while young people are generally good at spotting advertising, university prospectuses are different and can slip under the radar of skepticism.
(14) The problem of a hermeneutic psychiatry would be to steer between the Scylla of naive realism ignoring the major participation of the psychotherapist on the one hand, and the Charybdis of relativism, nihilism, and hopeless skepticism on the other.
(15) The evaluation and management of retinal ischemia from atherosclerotic carotid disease is in a state of flux reflected by the change from emphasizing surgical management in the '70s toward skepticism about the benefit of surgery in the '80s.
(16) Changes in nomenclature, while sorely needed, should be undertaken with appropriate skepticism and conservatism and should build upon the foundation provided by DSM-III.
(17) Thomas Jefferson, though generally skeptical of the medical treatments of his day, turned to laudanum in his later years to help ease his chronic diarrhea – an affliction that probably helped kill him .
(18) Many clinicians and radiotherapists are skeptical about the outcome of using radiosensitizers in patients.
(19) Surgeons commonly have reacted with skepticism to the introduction of catheter-based interventional approaches to treating coronary artery disease, prompted apparently, by a desire to protect what had been exclusively their turf.
(20) And theirs is not the only near-death story that has raised skeptical eyebrows – even among evangelicals.