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Agnosticism - A Very Short Introduction
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Many different kinds of book could be written about agnosticism.
It is a topic that invites exploration from a variety of angles. It
might, for instance, be the focus of a sociological survey of
contemporary religious attitudes. Or it might be one aspect of an
examination of negative theology, a feature of a number of
religious traditions in which God's nature is presented as largely
or wholly unknown and unknowable. Yet again, it might be part of
a history ofleading Victorian intellectuals. This little volume,
however, is none of these. Although there is some history in it, for
which I am much indebted to Bernard Lightman's illuminating
book The Origins of Agnost:icism, what I present here views
agnosticism from a philosophical angle. The key question is
whether or not agnosticism is justified, whether or not it is the
right attitude to take towards that most urgent of issues, the
existence of God. It is an invitation to the reader to engage in
debate, and that involves a certain amount ofto-ing and fro-ing
between different positions. It is a feature of philosophical writing
that positions are often presented, only then to be criticized and
opposed, and that can be a little disconcerting to readers not
already familiar with this style: just what position, they may
wonder, is the author taking? So, in case there is any doubt, what
is offered here is a defence of agnosticism, of a fairly strong kind.
But, and this may seem surprising, it is an agnosticism that
(I argue) is compatible with a religious way oflife and outlook.
I have also had to be very selective about the individuals I discuss.
It might seem odd, for example, that there is no mention of the
man described as "The Great Agnostic~ Robert G. Ingersoll
(1833-99), an American lawyer who became famous as an orator,
giving hugely popular talks on a variety of topics, often with a
humanist theme. But Ingersoll's mission was not to promote
agnosticism so much as emancipation from religion. Asked
whether he thought agnosticism was superior to atheism, he
replied that there was no difference between them. That is not the
line I wish to take here.
I would like to thank all those who have helped this project on its
way: Andrea Keegan, who commissioned the book, and offered
advice and encouragement in the early stages, Emma Marchant,
who saw it through to completion, Carrie Hickman, who provided
the illustrations, and two readers for the Press who offered
detailed comments on the draft typescript.

Preface xiii
List of illustrations xv
Introduction 1
1 What is agnosticism? 8
2 Who were the first agnostics? 18
3 Is agnosticism necessary? 40
4 Why be agnostic? 54
5 Does agnosticism rest on a mistake? 77
6 How should the agnostic live? 97
7 How should agnosticism be taught? 108
References 119
Further reading 123
Index 131
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