Atheism vs agnosticism

[lilithu]

That seems contradictory because if you accept the possibility that they exist, then you haven't quite reached the belief that they absolutely do not. If you believe that they do not exist, then how can you accept the possibility that they do.

Try this: there may or may not be at this moment a man by the name of Phil Lockley, wearing a grey suit and purple tie, standing in Tienamen Square. Sitting in my livingroom without access to webcam or a friend with a cellphone there, I have no way of knowing whether or not this is the case. I am agnostic with respect to the existence of Phil as described. That doesn't just mean that I'm not sure whether Phil is there; it means that I know that I cannot be sure whether Phil is there. But regardless of whether I can know if Phil is there, I do not believe that Phil is there. I have no reason to believe that, so I don't. The first is an epistemological question - can I know? The second is an ontological question - does the subject, as described, exist? I can concede that I do not know whether Phil is standing there in Tienamen square, and regardless, I can still believe or not believe that he is there.