--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Agnosticism, in fact, is not a creed, but…" description: "\"Agnosticism, in fact, is not a creed, but a method, the essence of which lies in the rigorous application of a single principle. ... Positively the pri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ac/thomas-huxley-1183_agnosticism_agnosticism-in-fact-is-not-a-creed-but-a_270740.png" --- # Agnosticism, in fact, is not a creed, but a method, the… ![“Agnosticism, in fact, is not a creed, but a method, the essence of which lies in the rigorous application of a single principle. ... Positively the principle may be expressed: In matters of the intellect, follow your reason as far as it will take you, without regard to any other consideration. And…” quote by Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ac/thomas-huxley-1183_agnosticism_agnosticism-in-fact-is-not-a-creed-but-a_270740.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ac/thomas-huxley-1183_agnosticism_agnosticism-in-fact-is-not-a-creed-but-a_270740.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ac/thomas-huxley-1183_agnosticism_agnosticism-in-fact-is-not-a-creed-but-a_270740.png) > “Agnosticism, in fact, is not a creed, but a method, the essence of which lies in the rigorous application of a single principle. ... Positively the principle may be expressed: In matters of the intellect, follow your reason as far as it will take you, without regard to any other consideration. And negatively: In matters of the intellect, do not pretend that conclusions are certain which are not demonstrated or demonstrable.” [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Agnosticism is a disciplined approach that relies on reason and evidence, rejecting certainty without proof. **In simple terms:** Reason and evidence guide belief, not faith. Key Takeaway Apply critical thinking, avoid unfounded claims. Themes skepticism reason intellectual honesty Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - scientific research - philosophical debate - personal decision making - education Key Concepts epistemology methodology critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle uncertainty in daily life? - When is it acceptable to trust intuition over evidence? A Different Perspective May ignore emotional or cultural aspects of belief. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agnosticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism/) [Agnosticism Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism-fact-2646607/) [Application](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/application/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) [Consideration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consideration/) [Creed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creed/) [Creed Method](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creed-method-2646608/) [Creeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creeds/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [Fact Creed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-creed-2646609/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Method](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/method/) [Positively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positively/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Regard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard/) ## Related quotes > [Agnosticism simply means that a man shall not say that he knows or believes that for which he has no grounds for professing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/agnosticism-simply-means-that-a-man-shall-not-say-that-he-knows-or/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Agnosticism is not properly described as a "negative" creed, nor indeed as a creed of any kind, except in so far as it expresses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/agnosticism-is-not-properly-described-as-a-negative-creed-nor-indeed/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [It is wrong for a man to say that he is certain of the objective truth of any proposition unless he can produce evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/it-is-wrong-for-a-man-to-say-that-he-is-certain-of-the-objective/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [“Agnosticism is of the essence of science, whether ancient or modern. It simply means that a man shall not say he knows or believes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/agnosticism-is-of-the-essence-of-science-whether-ancient-or-modern-it/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [“This man's spiritual power has been precisely this, that he has distinguished between custom and creed. He has broken the conventions, but he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/this-man-s-spiritual-power-has-been-precisely-this-that-he-has/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“My creed on the subject of slavery is short. Slavery per se is not sin. It is a social condition ordained from the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-morse/my-creed-on-the-subject-of-slavery-is-short-slavery-per-se-is-not-sin/) [Samuel Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-morse/) > [It is not merely true that a creed unites men. Nay, a difference of creed unites men - so long as it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/it-is-not-merely-true-that-a-creed-unites-men-nay-a-difference-of/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“What is the truth?’ he asked. ‘We place faith in ourselves,’ replied Altaïr (...) ‘We see the world as it really is, and hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-bowden/what-is-the-truth-he-asked-we-place-faith-in-ourselves-replied-alta-r/) [Oliver Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-bowden/) > [Logic has its use and metaphysics has its use, but neither of them is of much help in the making of a creed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/logic-has-its-use-and-metaphysics-has-its-use-but-neither-of-them-is/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [ “There exists indeed an opposition to it \[ building of UVA, Jefferson's secular college \] by the friends of William and Mary, which is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-exists-indeed-an-opposition-to-it-building-of-uva-jefferson-s/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“The certainty of God is beyond a creed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-certainty-of-god-is-beyond-a-creed/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Um, baby? You never watch soaps." He took a swig from the bottle. "All the backstabbing and cheating and fucking makes my life look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-croft/um-baby-you-never-watch-soaps-he-took-a-swig-from-the-bottle-all-the/) [Sydney Croft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-croft/) > [My creed is that: Happiness is the only good. The place to be happy is here. The time to be happy is now. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/my-creed-is-that-happiness-is-the-only-good-the-place-to-be-happy-is/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [A catechism is simply a tool for teaching the fundamentals of the faith. Unlike a creed or confession, a catechism uses questions and answers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-deyoung/a-catechism-is-simply-a-tool-for-teaching-the-fundamentals-of-the/) [Kevin DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-deyoung/) > [Raves when it was safe to be free & wave your hands in the air, like you didn't even care! Not scared to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/progrezza/raves-when-it-was-safe-to-be-free-wave-your-hands-in-the-air-like-you/) [Progrezza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/progrezza/) ## More by Thomas Huxley > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [There is nothing of permanent value (putting aside a few human affections) nothing that satisfies quiet reflection--except the sense of having worked according to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/there-is-nothing-of-permanent-value-putting-aside-a-few-human/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Economy does not lie in sparing money, but in spending it wisely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/economy-does-not-lie-in-sparing-money-but-in-spending-it-wisely/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [It is not to be forgotten that what we call rational grounds for our beliefs are often extremely irrational attempts to justify our instincts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/it-is-not-to-be-forgotten-that-what-we-call-rational-grounds-for-our/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Only a scientific people can survive in a scientific future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/only-a-scientific-people-can-survive-in-a-scientific-future/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Our reverence for the nobility of manhood will not be lessened by the knowledge that man is in substance and in structure, one with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/our-reverence-for-the-nobility-of-manhood-will-not-be-lessened-by-the/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [In science, as in art, and, as I believe, in every other sphere of human activity, there may be wisdom in a multitude of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/in-science-as-in-art-and-as-i-believe-in-every-other-sphere-of-human/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Science is simply common sense at its best, that is, rigidly accurate in observation, and merciless to fallacy in logic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/science-is-simply-common-sense-at-its-best-that-is-rigidly-accurate/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Oh devil! truth is better than much profit. I have searched over the grounds of my belief, and if wife and child and name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/oh-devil-truth-is-better-than-much-profit-i-have-searched-over-the/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Let us have "sweet girl graduates" by all means. They will be none the less sweet for a little wisdom; and the "golden hair"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/let-us-have-sweet-girl-graduates-by-all-means-they-will-be-none-the/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [In matters of the intellect, do not pretend that conclusions are certain which are not demonstrated or demonstrable. That I take to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/in-matters-of-the-intellect-do-not-pretend-that-conclusions-are/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [And you very soon find out, if you have not found it out before, that patience and tenacity of purpose are worth more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/and-you-very-soon-find-out-if-you-have-not-found-it-out-before-that/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [No one who has lived in the world as long as you & I have, can entertain the pious delusion that it is engineered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/no-one-who-has-lived-in-the-world-as-long-as-you-i-have-can-entertain/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Mix salt and sand, and it shall puzzle the wisest of men, with his mere natural appliances, to separate all the grains of sand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/mix-salt-and-sand-and-it-shall-puzzle-the-wisest-of-men-with-his-mere/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [What are the moral convictions most fondly held by barbarous and semi-barbarous people? They are the convictions that authority is the soundest basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/what-are-the-moral-convictions-most-fondly-held-by-barbarous-and-semi/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) [Explore all 278 Thomas Huxley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) ## More Agnosticism quotes > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The prayer of the agnostic: "O God, if there is a God, save my soul if I have a soul."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-prayer-of-the-agnostic-o-god-if-there-is-a-god-save-my-soul-if-i/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Agnosticism is the natural attitude of the evolutionist. How can a brute mind comprehend spiritual things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/agnosticism-is-the-natural-attitude-of-the-evolutionist-how-can-a/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Intellect, at its best, can make you agnostic. Being theist or atheist is still a matter of choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/intellect-at-its-best-can-make-you-agnostic-being-theist-or-atheist/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [To be agnostic is to be open-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-agnostic-is-to-be-open-minded/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The religious hypothesis, therefore, must be considered only as a particular method of accounting for the visible phenomena of the universe: but no just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-religious-hypothesis-therefore-must-be-considered-only-as-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The world is continuous flux and is impermanent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-world-is-continuous-flux-and-is-impermanent/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“I'm agnostic. By definition, I'm unsure of what to believe in, but I'm also borderline-capable of believing in anything and everything, or nothing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-lola/i-m-agnostic-by-definition-i-m-unsure-of-what-to-believe-in-but-i-m/) [Lauren Lola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-lola/) > [“The Agnostic is one who asserts 'what no one denies' that there are limits to the sphere of human intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-agnostic-is-one-who-asserts-what-no-one-denies-that-there-are/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [I have only a small flickering light to guide me in the darkness of a thick forest. Up comes a theologian and blows it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/i-have-only-a-small-flickering-light-to-guide-me-in-the-darkness-of-a/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [“...The Presidential election has given me less anxiety than I myself could have imagined. The next administration will be a troublesome one, to whomsoever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/the-presidential-election-has-given-me-less-anxiety-than-i-myself/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [We are enabled to apprehend at all what is sublime and noble only by the perpetual instilling and drenching of the reality that surrounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-are-enabled-to-apprehend-at-all-what-is-sublime-and-noble-only-by/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“We should be agnostic about those things for which there is no evidence. We should not hold beliefs merely because they gratify our desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-should-be-agnostic-about-those-things-for-which-there-is-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 275 Agnosticism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Agnosticism, in fact, is not a creed, but a method, the essence of which lies in the rigorous application of a single principle. ... Positively the principle may be expressed: In matters of the intellect, follow your reason as far as it will take you, without regard to any other consideration. 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