iaamoac wrote: > > --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], David Hobby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > If you want a serious discussion of religion, we should > > probably all agree to adopt an agnostic viewpoint for the duration. > > But what kind of discussion is it where one adopts a viewpoint that > one does not seriously believe? Why should those who disagree with > agnostics be forced to adopt their viewpoint?
"Agnostic" means "not knowing", right? I don't really see that there is much to DISAGREE with there. You might personally KNOW, but should be open to the possibility that others don't.
I'm not sure what you are getting at in the last paragraph. Let's change the topic under discussion from religion to astronomy (or math, or physics, or some other subject at which you may be considered an expert). When I go into the classroom, it is assumed that I know something about the topic, and that it is not just a possibility but a certainty that the students in the class do not know as much about it as I do. So what I do is to share as much of my knowledge of the topic with them as is possible. However, it seems as if the above is saying that instead of sharing my knowledge with others, if they do not already know what I know, I should pretend that I don't know either? Is that the correct interpretation, or am I misreading what the above says?
If you aren't
...open to the possibility that others don't know (?) ...
, there really isn't much to say, is there?
But since I am open to the possibility that others don't know as much as I do about certain topics, I am willing to share what I do know in order to help others learn more about those topics. Do we agree, or am I missing the point you were trying to make?
-- Ronn! :)
Ronn Blankenship Instructor of Astronomy/Planetary Science University of Montevallo Montevallo, AL
Disclaimer: Unless specifically stated otherwise, any opinions contained herein are the personal opinions of the author and do not represent the official position of the University of Montevallo.
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