Possibilianism

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Possibilianism

This post was updated on .
http://possibilian.com

What is possibilianism?

Possibilianism is a philosophy which rejects both the idiosyncratic claims of traditional theism and the positions of certainty in atheism in favor of a middle, exploratory ground. The term was first defined by neuroscientist David Eagleman in relation to his book of fiction Sum. Asked whether he was an atheist or a religious person on a National Public Radio interview in February, 2009, he replied "I call myself a Possibilian: I'm open to ideas that we don't have any way of testing right now." In a subsequent interview with the New York Times, Eagleman expanded on the definition:

"Our ignorance of the cosmos is too vast to commit to atheism, and yet we know too much to commit to a particular religion. A third position, agnosticism, is often an uninteresting stance in which a person simply questions whether his traditional religious story (say, a man with a beard on a cloud) is true or not true. But with Possibilianism I'm hoping to define a new position -- one that emphasizes the exploration of new, unconsidered possibilities. Possibilianism is comfortable holding multiple ideas in mind; it is not interested in committing to any particular story."
Alex Alex
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Posted before

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Re: Posted before

Aiya. I'm too slow. (And forgetful)

Good one. Thanks Alex.
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Whither Eagleman? (Sam Harris)

This post was updated on .
"But it seems to me that now might be a good time for you to admit that 'possibilianism,' this middle position of yours, is just a piece of performance art, rather than a serious thesis." Sam Harris' response to David Eagleman.

http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/whither-eagleman