Agnosticism

Why I am an Agnostic and Neither an Atheist Nor a Believer

Why I am an Agnostic and Neither an Atheist Nor a Believer

The mystery of existence is the greatest of all mysteries and the most basic of the big questions.  It is mainly what has kept me an agnostic rather than an atheist.  (It should be acknowledged that regarding Abrahamic concepts of God I’m more of an atheist.)  The immensity of the universe (or a multiverse cosmos) is incredible; impossible to fathom.  Thinking about this sometimes makes me wonder if perhaps almost anything might be possible. However, it doesn’t make me a believer.  I‘m in agreement with physicist Richard Feynman who once said in an interview:  “I can live with doubt and uncertainty.  I think it’s much more interesting to live NOT knowing than to have answers which might be wrong.”  I truly don’t know how there happens to be any existence.

Johannes Brahms, The Man and Humanist: a Psychoanalytic View

Johannes Brahms, The Man and Humanist: a Psychoanalytic View

Johannes Brahms was one of the greatest composers of the 19th century. Though he found inspiration for his compositions in the Bible, he was an agnostic with one true “religion”—his music. From a psychoanalytic point of view, Brahms’ traumatic childhood experiences are connected with his melancholic disposition and his ambivalence towards lasting commitments as an adult. On the one hand his inner conflicts caused great hardship, but on the other hand his suffering inspired many of his masterpieces, and helped to shape Brahms, the humanist.