Many atheists get frustrated with agnostics not wanting to associate with the atheist label. If we go strictly based on definitions, then I agree with atheists when it comes to all agnostics being either atheist or theist towards the question of God. There is no middle ground response to that question. BUT, the key thing is that someone may not be in a state of mind to respond. Below I'll offer some cognitive reasons why an agnostic may not be able to call themselves an atheist or theist.
Cognitive reasons
A person who has conflicting or contradictory beliefs can not be said to be atheist or theist since those labels involve a 'consistent' belief about God's existence (ie God exist= theism or God does not exist = atheism). Inconsistent beliefs can arise when a person accepts that there's evidence for both sides of an issue which means that the truth of the issue is not known, or at least not fully. This could play out when a person forms a belief that God exist based on evidence/reason X (first cause argument, etc) and then later comes across another argument/reason/evidence for why God doesn't exist and the person accepts and believes it's valid. The beliefs are based on separate reasons but lead to conflicting conclusions which the agnostic is not able to reconcile just as with any other complex/unknown issue that has support for both sides.
Now some may say that in theory this can happen but is not practical. I of course would disagree with that not only because we form belief based on evidence and it's possible for there to be evidence for both sides of an issue, but I'll also proposed two other mechanisms.
One way that contradictory beliefs can exist is through mental compartmentalization. We tend to compartmentalize different ideas/beliefs in the brain. A better way to put it:
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compartmentalization_(psychology)
Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-minds-compartments-create-conflicting-beliefs/
I'm bringing up this issue because I feel that agnostics tend to be misunderstood and part of the problem is that many want to characterize the agnostic as being on one side or the other. Some agnostics tend to hold views or be extremely open to views on both sides so rather than frustrating yourself (certain atheists or theists), it would be better to not conclude which side I would be on based on one position that I have.[/QUOTE]
Cognitive reasons
A person who has conflicting or contradictory beliefs can not be said to be atheist or theist since those labels involve a 'consistent' belief about God's existence (ie God exist= theism or God does not exist = atheism). Inconsistent beliefs can arise when a person accepts that there's evidence for both sides of an issue which means that the truth of the issue is not known, or at least not fully. This could play out when a person forms a belief that God exist based on evidence/reason X (first cause argument, etc) and then later comes across another argument/reason/evidence for why God doesn't exist and the person accepts and believes it's valid. The beliefs are based on separate reasons but lead to conflicting conclusions which the agnostic is not able to reconcile just as with any other complex/unknown issue that has support for both sides.
Now some may say that in theory this can happen but is not practical. I of course would disagree with that not only because we form belief based on evidence and it's possible for there to be evidence for both sides of an issue, but I'll also proposed two other mechanisms.
One way that contradictory beliefs can exist is through mental compartmentalization. We tend to compartmentalize different ideas/beliefs in the brain. A better way to put it:
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compartmentalization_(psychology)
Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-minds-compartments-create-conflicting-beliefs/
I'm bringing up this issue because I feel that agnostics tend to be misunderstood and part of the problem is that many want to characterize the agnostic as being on one side or the other. Some agnostics tend to hold views or be extremely open to views on both sides so rather than frustrating yourself (certain atheists or theists), it would be better to not conclude which side I would be on based on one position that I have.[/QUOTE]
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