Agnosticism *is* the reasoned position, in that it grows out of the acceptance that, no matter how overwhelming the evidence, there is no such thing as "proven" and "unproven." No one "disproved" the Earth's position in the center of the solar system; instead, someone showed very strong negative evidence against it, as well as positive evidence in support of another theory. The agnostic, the reasoned human being, must accept the possibility, no matter how minute, that the Earth does in fact lie at the center of the solar system. The agnostic could hold a reasoned position such as "given the data, the chances of the Earth being at the center of the solar system are incredibly slim, and in fact it appears that the sun occupies that position." To speak of a theory's accuracy in dichotomous terms, and to then pick a side, is to reject entirely a possibility that has not been shown to be incorrect, just unlikely. The idea of a creative god might seem like a long shot, and no positive evidence exists to argue for it, but one cannot entirely discount it. One can only speak of its unlikelihood; that is, one can only be an agnostic.
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Agnosticism *is* the reasoned position, in that it grows out of the acceptance that, no matter how overwhelming the evidence, there is no such thing as "proven" and "unproven." No one "disproved" the Earth's position in the center of the solar system; instead, someone showed very strong negative evidence against it, as well as positive evidence in support of another theory. The agnostic, the reasoned human being, must accept the possibility, no matter how minute, that the Earth does in fact lie at the center of the solar system. The agnostic could hold a reasoned position such as "given the data, the chances of the Earth being at the center of the solar system are incredibly slim, and in fact it appears that the sun occupies that position." To speak of a theory's accuracy in dichotomous terms, and to then pick a side, is to reject entirely a possibility that has not been shown to be incorrect, just unlikely. The idea of a creative god might seem like a long shot, and no positive evidence exists to argue for it, but one cannot entirely discount it. One can only speak of its unlikelihood; that is, one can only be an agnostic.