I was raised hardcore agnostic.
‘Suppose in everything, believe nothing.’ (My family?)
‘Belief is the death of intelligence’ (Robert Anton Wilson)
‘Minds open with wonder, not closed with belief’ (can’t remember, just drummed into me)
My point being, I always find it strange to see the general conception of agnosticism as an indecision, rather than a pretty intense practice of refraining from/unlearning belief (including believing in nothing). It’s not ‘I don’t know if God exists’, it’s ‘I am choosing the potential power of any and all theories about God over the comfort of settling on one’.
And agnosticism isn’t just about God— hardcores try to be agnostic about everything. If you’re really going for it, it’s not a cop-out at all (although some people def use it as such) — it’s extremely tiring and often quite frightening.
I really like the general philosophy because it creates a very open and varied experience of the world, and when taken to its logical conclusion, pushes an ethic of listening and giving people the benefit of the doubt, and of changing your mind & accepting that the beliefs that have formed unconsciously within you are not necessarily right or true.
Example: skepticism. The skeptic goes around, being skeptical of everything, narrowing their life and sense of trust until they reach the last thing to turn their skepticism to: skepticism itself. To be a true skeptic, you have to escape the bounds of the belief system that it laid out for you in the first place. Kind of like Nanny McPhee.
So in my practice, I do not abstain from opinion or ethic stances. For me, people’s rights and safety isn’t a matter of belief — it is a matter of understanding how my own rights keep me safe, and understanding that those who do not have those same rights are at an unfair disadvantage, and I am not okay with that.
And by the way, I am by no means anti religion or anti the practice of faith and belief — part of my practice is genuine wonder and curiosity and appreciation towards those guided by faith and their belief systems. In my own refusal to believe, I have found more connection with those who do (since I also refuse Atheism). The world cannot (and should not) be entirely agnostic— because agnosticism is meaningless without a diversity of world views and belief systems to attempt to hold in view and appreciate simultaneously. This means that agnostics cherish the existence of you all — because we couldn’t exist without you.
Ooo I could go on and on about how agnosticism has helped me to forge strong opinions!!
It is very obvious to me that abortion should be legal, easy to access and entirely free for any pregnant person who wants it.
But aren’t I stepping on the ‘rights’ or ‘invalidating’ Christian belief? Shouldn’t I abstain from this conversation, whimpering as we agnostics tend to do?
Fuck no! Because while we accept that there are belief systems (and a whole bunch of other factors) that might make someone not choose to have an abortion, it is UNACCEPTABLE for those people to take away the choice, the diversity of outcomes and expressions of self, from other belief systems. I ‘suppose’ I am Christian, and try to access the feeling of not wanting an abortion even in the most extreme of circumstances. I ‘suppose’ I am someone who wants an abortion because it is not the right time for a baby. I conclude that abortion should be accessible, and that there should be systems of child support etc for those who have children in adverse conditions.
I really dislike the disdain a lot of atheists have for faithful people. There is a sense of dismissal, of ‘asking for’ negative outcomes if you are a person of faith. Agnosticism supposes in atheism, but no more than anything else. In fact I have found that atheists tend to be the people who get the most angered by agnosticism. Their minds can be extraordinarily closed! And I must admit I find them fairly boring conversation most of the time.
Not sure how to end this. But
