So it is best to keep an open mind and be agnostic. At first sight that seems an unassailable position, at least in the weak sense of Pascal's wager. But on second thoughts it seems a cop-out, because the same could be said of Father Christmas and tooth fairies. There may be fairies at the bottom of the garden. There is no evidence for it, but you can't prove that there aren't any, so shouldn't we be agnostic with respect to fairies?

Summary

This quote highlights the idea of being agnostic as a way to approach various beliefs and concepts, such as the existence of deities or mythical creatures like fairies. The quote suggests that while being agnostic may seem like a reasonable stance at first, upon deeper reflection, it could be seen as a cop-out. It questions whether being agnostic should apply to every belief without concrete evidence, including those that are widely regarded as fictional, like fairies or Santa Claus. The quote challenges the notion of equating all beliefs to the same level of uncertainty and argues for a more critical examination of each belief's credibility based on available evidence.

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