Description

Book Synopsis
Originally published in 1987. The Origins of Agnosticism provides a reinterpretation of agnosticism and its relationship to science. Professor Lightman examines the epistemological basis of agnostics' learned ignorance, studying their core claim that God is unknowable. To address this question, he reconstructs the theory of knowledge posited by Thomas Henry Huxley and his network of agnostics. In doing so, Lightman argues that agnosticism was constructed on an epistemological foundation laid by Christian thought. In addition to undermining the continuity in the intellectual history of religious thought, Lightman exposes the religious origins of agnosticism.

Table of Contents

Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction. The Power of Modern Agnosticism
Chapter 1. The Agnostic Conundrum
Chapter 2. Mansel and the Kantian Tradition
Chapter 3. Herbert Spencer and the Worship of the Unknowable
Chapter 4. Disillusionment with and Attack on Orthodoxy
Chapter 5. Religion, Theology, and the Church Agnostic
Chapter 6. The New Natural Theology and the Holy Trinity of Agnosticism
Conclusion. The Tragedy of Agnosticism
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index

The Origins of Agnosticism

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    A Paperback / softback by Bernard Lightman

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      Book details

      Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
      Published 26 January 2020
      ISBN-13 9781421431406
      978-1421431406
      ISBN-10 1421431408
      Also in:
      Agnosticism and atheism History of science

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Originally published in 1987. The Origins of Agnosticism provides a reinterpretation of agnosticism and its relationship to science. Professor Lightman examines the epistemological basis of agnostics' learned ignorance, studying their core claim that God is unknowable. To address this question, he reconstructs the theory of knowledge posited by Thomas Henry Huxley and his network of agnostics. In doing so, Lightman argues that agnosticism was constructed on an epistemological foundation laid by Christian thought. In addition to undermining the continuity in the intellectual history of religious thought, Lightman exposes the religious origins of agnosticism.

      Table of Contents

      Illustrations
      Acknowledgments
      Introduction. The Power of Modern Agnosticism
      Chapter 1. The Agnostic Conundrum
      Chapter 2. Mansel and the Kantian Tradition
      Chapter 3. Herbert Spencer and the Worship of the Unknowable
      Chapter 4. Disillusionment with and Attack on Orthodoxy
      Chapter 5. Religion, Theology, and the Church Agnostic
      Chapter 6. The New Natural Theology and the Holy Trinity of Agnosticism
      Conclusion. The Tragedy of Agnosticism
      Abbreviations
      Notes
      Bibliography
      Index

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