Apathetic agnosticism:why I think it's the most common kind

[sidetrack]

I’ve decided to write this posting now know b/c I feel that I got enough info to formulate a thought/opinion from the replies I got from my previous postings* “What is a lifestyle?”* and* “Would life be a disaster if no one believed in anything?” *b/c the replies from those questions have are significant when considered this word.Adding to my list of words like misotheism,theodicy,cosmodicy,anthrodicy and comminating I’ve again found out about a single word that specifically defines a commonly occuring thing or concept in religion.Apatheism (.a.k.a. pragmatic atheism,apathatic agnosticism,pragmatic agnosticism or practical atheism):agnosticism that has no interest regarding God and can even lack the interest to accept or deny that there is a God.It’s not important,meaningful or relevant to them.They have enough to deal with in life as it is. By extension I guess it can also mean that for that matter a person might have no interest in spirituality.Yes,I know (like from what I’ve seen on this forum) that some ppl go for agnosticism for various reasons.There are those who ***actually think and wonder *** about whether there is a God.However the MUCH more common phenomenom that I see ppl who technically are in this mode of thought in regards to religion.

You can lose your your connection to a belief system by not thinking/keeping in mind the right beliefs and how as a result of those beliefs there are things that you should do/actualize (the corollary to each of those particular beliefs.More often the proper concept in a religion (ex.practising compassion b/c you’d like to treat others the way you’d like to be treated) is an entelechy.It is not meant to be a potentiality (I think…).Thus the belief is eventually lost and followed out a convention which know one can really remember the point in doing.Or(from my viewpoint) alternatively, you can much more easily lose your connection to a belief system by not practising your beliefs rather then from not believing (because maybe one of points of your belief system was’nt so much about believing something in the first place it was about doing something).Therefore IMO the belief system can easily end up being humanistic and/or materialistic for that individual.Ultimately though the belief system you follow should be indicative of how we live our life.But instead stuff like this happens.

I guess that** the lowest denomination** of following a belief system like a religion is nominalism.Some people enjoying giving themselves a certain religious association to better classify their “moral” or “social” standing to a certain group.It is not uncommon that being religiously ignorant is’nt there due to lacking religious knowledge and religious practices which at most make what they do perfunctory (ex.not really knowing* why you only go to Mass on Easter and Christmas).Right below that is agnosticism of various sorts.Apathetic agnosticism though is IMO like… the step on the ladder right above the different kinds of atheism*.Particulary the kind of atheism you get from not giving much thought to it.Also it seems to be not much more different then being a functional nihilist.Anomie and amorality* could* reign supreme but they ussually dont (although the soil for it to grow is better I think).

Now I’m just waiting to find out about a word that describes “having no interest regarding philosophy and can even lack the interest to accept or deny that the significance of a philosophical aspect” and somehow the next time I look at that “Would life be a disaster if no one believed in anything?” I’ll be thinking about things more broadly.Come to think of it…[thought of Fictionary word game thread pop up in head]

 

[ThinkingSapien]

Apatheism…]agnosticism that has no interest regarding God and can even lack the interest to accept or deny that there is a God.It’s not important,meaningful or relevant to them.They have enough to deal with in life as it is.

I’d say that’s some what descriptive of my sister. Though like me she doesn’t find the word “God” to be meaningful by itself. There are people that promote a lot of different god concepts and if you were to use the word “God” she’d need further qualification to know which concept about which one was speaking. But in general she wouldn’t ask for further qualification since she just doesn’t care.

You can lose your your connection to a belief system by not thinking/keeping in mind the right beliefs and how as a result of those beliefs there are things that you should do/actualize (the corollary to each of those particular beliefs.

I can’t think of a meaning of “right beliefs” that would be generally applicable to belief systems. Perhaps something with more general applicability that I think expresses a similar concept would be that “one’s attachment to a belif system could possibly diminish if the person does not continue to engage in experiences that maintain the belief.” I use the word “could” since this is not gauranteed to happen. There are also other factors. Some people loose their belief but continue to engage in the activities of their religion to maintain status quo. (One could argue that engaging in the same activities under a different mindset is not engaging in the same experience).

…].Or(from my viewpoint) alternatively, you can much more easily lose your connection to a belief system by not practising your beliefs rather then from not believing

Okay, that sounds a bit like the above.

(because maybe one of points of your belief system was’nt so much about believing something in the first place it was about doing something).Therefore IMO the belief system can easily end up being humanistic and/or materialistic for that individual.Ultimately though the belief system you follow should be indicative of how we live our life.But instead stuff like this happens.

Unless some one with no religion is trying to conform to some philosiphy or political orientation it is possible that the person isn’t trying to conform to any identified system of belief. Belief comes across (to me) as something that is a part of the self identity for a Christian and a few other religions. But for some others (both with and without a religion)conforming to a system of belief may be less important than conforming to some other cultural norm or achieving some other social status.

Particulary the kind of atheism you get from not giving much thought to it.Also it seems to be not much more different then being a functional nihilist.

I suppose that could be one path. In the case of my sister though she got to her position though some self reflection and research. After ariving to her current position the religion we inherited was nolonger important beyond being a cultural artifact.

 

[tonyrey]

Now I’m just waiting to find out about a word that describes “having no interest regarding philosophy and can even lack the interest to accept or deny that the significance of a philosophical aspect” and somehow the next time I look at that “Would life be a disaster if no one believed in anything?”

How about “aphilosophical” - which would match “amoral” and “atheist”.

 

[ThinkingSapien]

How about “aphilosophical” - which would match “amoral” and “atheist”.

I don’t think it does. These look to be independent attributes to me. Some one could be motivated to help out others and avoid being harmful while at the same time holding no interest in religion and philosophy. Or some one could have an interest in philosophy but also decide to behave very badly, and so on.

 

[wanstronian]

I’ve decided to write this posting now know b/c I feel that I got enough info to formulate a thought/opinion from the replies I got from my previous postings* “What is a lifestyle?”* and* “Would life be a disaster if no one believed in anything?” *b/c the replies from those questions have are significant when considered this word.Adding to my list of words like misotheism,theodicy,cosmodicy,anthrodicy and comminating I’ve again found out about a single word that specifically defines a commonly occuring thing or concept in religion.Apatheism (.a.k.a. pragmatic atheism,apathatic agnosticism,pragmatic agnosticism or practical atheism):agnosticism that has no interest regarding God and can even lack the interest to accept or deny that there is a God.It’s not important,meaningful or relevant to them.They have enough to deal with in life as it is. By extension I guess it can also mean that for that matter a person might have no interest in spirituality.Yes,I know (like from what I’ve seen on this forum) that some ppl go for agnosticism for various reasons.There are those who ***actually think and wonder *** about whether there is a God.However the MUCH more common phenomenom that I see ppl who technically are in this mode of thought in regards to religion.

You can lose your your connection to a belief system by not thinking/keeping in mind the right beliefs and how as a result of those beliefs there are things that you should do/actualize (the corollary to each of those particular beliefs.More often the proper concept in a religion (ex.practising compassion b/c you’d like to treat others the way you’d like to be treated) is an entelechy.It is not meant to be a potentiality (I think…).Thus the belief is eventually lost and followed out a convention which know one can really remember the point in doing.Or(from my viewpoint) alternatively, you can much more easily lose your connection to a belief system by not practising your beliefs rather then from not believing (because maybe one of points of your belief system was’nt so much about believing something in the first place it was about doing something).Therefore IMO the belief system can easily end up being humanistic and/or materialistic for that individual.Ultimately though the belief system you follow should be indicative of how we live our life.But instead stuff like this happens.

I guess that** the lowest denomination** of following a belief system like a religion is nominalism.Some people enjoying giving themselves a certain religious association to better classify their “moral” or “social” standing to a certain group.It is not uncommon that being religiously ignorant is’nt there due to lacking religious knowledge and religious practices which at most make what they do perfunctory (ex.not really knowing* why you only go to Mass on Easter and Christmas).Right below that is agnosticism of various sorts.Apathetic agnosticism though is IMO like… the step on the ladder right above the different kinds of atheism*.Particulary the kind of atheism you get from not giving much thought to it.Also it seems to be not much more different then being a functional nihilist.Anomie and amorality* could* reign supreme but they ussually dont (although the soil for it to grow is better I think).

Now I’m just waiting to find out about a word that describes “having no interest regarding philosophy and can even lack the interest to accept or deny that the significance of a philosophical aspect” and somehow the next time I look at that “Would life be a disaster if no one believed in anything?” I’ll be thinking about things more broadly.Come to think of it…[thought of Fictionary word game thread pop up in head]

I think it’s kind of obvious why apathetic agnosticism is the most common kind. Surely it applies to any potential beliefs, about anything. If one just doesn’t care, if one finds other things more important and rewarding, then apathy is naturally the de facto position. One can’t spend time considering every single proposition in the world; there should be no default expectation that religion is high on anybody’s list of considerations, any more than, say, vegetarianism is.

In keeping with your “apatheistic” term, I guess the correct word for someone who just can’t be bothered with any philosophical point of view would be “apaphilosophical?” Although this loses some of the clarity provided by having the “th” common in both “apathy” and “atheist.”

I don’t think it does. These look to be independent attributes to me. Some one could be motivated to help out others and avoid being harmful while at the same time holding no interest in religion and philosophy. Or some one could have an interest in philosophy but also decide to behave very badly, and so on.

Indeed. Tony’s apparent attempt to juxtapose a lack of morality with a lack of belief in gods is, if intentional, nothing more than petty sniping which he himself knows to be a falsehood (unless, perhaps, he never looks out of his window - which, given his throughput on this site, is a distinct possibility!)