"When I reached intellectual maturity, and began to ask myself whether I was an atheist, a theist or a pantheist, a materialist or an idealist, a Christian or a freethinker, I found that the more I learned and reflected, the less ready was the answer; until, at last, I came to the conclusion that I had neither art nor part with any of these denominations, except the last. The one thing on which most of these good people were agreed was the one thing in which I differed from them. They were quite sure they had attained a certain "gnosis" — had more or less successfully, solved the problem of existence; while I was quite sure that I had not, and had a pretty strong conviction that the problem was insoluble."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Thomas Huxley, in 'Christianity and Agnosticism: A Controversy (1889).
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Agnosticism
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Agnosticism
36 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Agnosticism →
Related Quotes
"Belief is otiose; reality is sufficiently awesome as it stands."
"'Agnosticism', which is simply and solely the word for a disclaimer, a renunciation of both affirmations and denials …"
"Every notion that any man, dead, living, or unborn, might form as to the universe will necessarily prove wrong."
"Each person, then, is subject to two quite different requirements in connection with any proposition he considers: (1…"
"Agnostic? ... Isn't that just an atheist without balls?"
"I do not consider it an insult, but rather a compliment to be called an agnostic. I do not pretend to know where many…"
"I am a skeptic about everything, including God and atheism. I am not certain about issues of cosmology. Sometimes I b…"
"I do not know whether there are gods, but there ought to be."
"As a matter of fact agnosticism is a theory of knowledge: it is defined as that theory of knowledge which ends in dou…"
"I say that I am an agnostic. People think that's pusillanimous and covering your bets. But it's not based on any beli…"