home

Essays


Go to
pithanostic in
Concept Clarifier

Pithanosis and Pistis

Our language lacks some words which we need, especially when discussing the theism/atheism controversy.  We have the words gnostic and agnostic relative to knowledge.  We need other such words relative to probability judgment and belief.

Gnostic and agnostic come from the Greek word gnosis, which means knowledge.
The Greek word for probable or likely is pithanos.

Therefore if I don't know if proposition X is true:
but I think it’s probable, I am pithanostic relative to proposition X.
If I have no opinion, I am apithanostic relative to proposition X.
If I think proposition X is improbable, I am antipithanostic relative to X.

An apithanostic position is a non-epistemic position.
Apithanosis with regard to X implies inability to say anything about X.


The Greek word for belief is pistis.

If I have no belief about proposition X, I am apistic relative to X.