Agnosticismo

El agnosticismo (del griego antiguo α- [a-], ‘sin’; y γνώσις [gnōsis], ‘conocimiento’) es la postura que considera que la veracidad de ciertas afirmaciones —especialmente las referidas a la existencia o inexistencia de Dios, además de otras afirmaciones religiosas y metafísicas— es desconocida (agnosticismo moderado) o inherentemente incognoscible (agnosticismo radical).^[1]​^[2]​^[3]​

El biólogo británico Thomas Henry Huxley acuñó la palabra agnóstico en 1869. Sin embargo, algunos pensadores y obras de la Antigüedad ya habían promovido puntos de vista agnósticos, incluido el agnosticismo de Sanyaia Belatthaputta (filósofo indio del siglo V a. C.) respecto de la existencia de cualquier forma de vida más allá de la muerte,^[4]​^[5]​^[6]​ el de Protágoras (filósofo griego del siglo V a. C.) sobre los dioses^[7]​ y el del «Himno de la creación», parte del texto sagrado indio Rig-veda (uno de los textos conocidos más antiguos, compuesto probablemente entre 1500 a. C.-1200 a. C.), acerca del origen del universo.^[8]​^[9]​^[10]​

1. ↑ Hepburn, Ronald W. (2005). «Agnosticism». En Donald M. Borchert, ed. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy 1 (2da edición). MacMillan Reference USA (Gale). p. 92. ISBN 0-02-865780-2. «In the most general use of the term, agnosticism is the view that we do not know whether there is a God or not.» (page 56 in 1967 edition)
2. ↑ Rowe, William L. (1998). «Agnosticism». En Edward Craig, ed. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-07310-3. «In the popular sense, an agnostic is someone who neither believes nor disbelieves in God, whereas an atheist disbelieves in God. In the strict sense, however, agnosticism is the view that human reason is incapable of providing sufficient rational grounds to justify either the belief that God exists or the belief that God does not exist. In so far as one holds that our beliefs are rational only if they are sufficiently supported by human reason, the person who accepts the philosophical position of agnosticism will hold that neither the belief that God exists nor the belief that God does not exist is rational.» 
3. ↑ agnostic, agnosticism. Oxford University Press. 13 de septiembre de 2012. «agnostic. A. n. 1. A person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of immaterial things, especially of the existence or nature of God. 2. In extended use: a person who is not persuaded by or committed to a particular point of view; a sceptic. Also: person of indeterminate ideology or conviction; an equivocator. B. adj. 1. Of or relating to the belief that the existence of anything beyond and behind material phenomena is unknown and (as far as can be judged) unknowable. Also: holding this belief. 2. a. In extended use: not committed to or persuaded by a particular point of view; sceptical. Also: politically or ideologically unaligned; non-partisan, equivocal. agnosticism, n. The doctrine or tenets of agnostics with regard to the existence of anything beyond and behind material phenomena or to knowledge of a First Cause or God.» 
4. ↑ «Samaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Contemplative Life». a part of the Digha Nikaya translated in 1997 by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Archivado desde el original el 9 de febrero de 2014. «If you ask me if there exists another world (after death), ... I don't think so. I don't think in that way. I don't think otherwise. I don't think not. I don't think not not.» 
5. ↑ Bhaskar (1972).
6. ↑ Lloyd Ridgeon (13 de marzo de 2003). Major World Religions: From Their Origins To The Present. Taylor & Francis. pp. 63-. ISBN 978-0-203-42313-4. 
7. ↑ The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Protagoras (c. 490 – c. 420 BCE). Archivado desde el original el 2 de febrero de 2014. Consultado el 22 de julio de 2013. «While the pious might wish to look to the gods to provide absolute moral guidance in the relativistic universe of the Sophistic Enlightenment, that certainty also was cast into doubt by philosophic and sophistic thinkers, who pointed out the absurdity and immorality of the conventional epic accounts of the gods. Protagoras' prose treatise about the gods began 'Concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not or of what sort they may be. Many things prevent knowledge including the obscurity of the subject and the brevity of human life.'». 
8. ↑ Patri, Umesh and Prativa Devi (13 de febrero de 1990). «Progress of Atheism in India: A Historical Perspective». Atheist Centre 1940–1990 Golden Jubilee. Archivado desde el original el 29 de junio de 2014. Consultado el 29 de junio de 2014. 
9. ↑ Trevor Treharne (2012). How to Prove God Does Not Exist: The Complete Guide to Validating Atheism. Universal-Publishers. pp. 34-. ISBN 978-1-61233-118-8. 
10. ↑ Helmut Schwab (10 de diciembre de 2012). Essential Writings: A Journey Through Time: A Modern "De Rerum Natura". iUniverse. pp. 77-. ISBN 978-1-4759-6026-6.