From today's featured article
Agnosticism is a position that questions the existence of God or the divine. It is typically treated either as a personal attitude that suspends judgment or as the philosophical claim that God's existence is unknowable. Agnosticism contrasts with theism, which affirms God's existence, and atheism, which denies it. It is understood either as a neutral middle ground between the two or as a rejection of their shared assumption that knowledge is attainable. Proponents of agnosticism typically hold that evidence regarding God's existence is inconclusive and that intellectual humility demands suspending judgment. Different groups of critics contend that there is decisive evidence either for or against God's existence. Agnosticism is often associated with a secular lifestyle that resembles atheism in practice, but it does not necessarily preclude religion. The term was coined in the 19th century by Thomas Henry Huxley (pictured), but precursors already existed in ancient Greek and Indian thought. ( Full article... )
Did you know ...
- ... that the cross-bracing trusses and geometric windows of the Chapel of the Apostles (pictured) were said to evoke a "multifaceted diamond"?
- ... that Yōichi Nakanishi served as the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture for more than 30 years?
- ... that California Creek and Dakota Creek are in Washington?
- ... that Bolu Ogunyemi is the Canadian Medical Association's first black president, and one of the youngest to hold that office?
- ... that the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan failed to pass an amendment auditing the National Intelligence Council for potential privacy violations?
- ... that baseball player Bunny Fabrique claimed to be a descendant of King Louis XVI of France?
- ... that a plane crash that killed all 14 occupants came at the conclusion of a three-day flight tour organized by a Chinese warlord?
- ... that Leif Strand claimed proficiency in the sport of skull fighting?
- ... that dogs in Spain include one who foiled a bombing , one who had his own travel series , and one who is 12 metres tall and covered in 38,000 flowers ?
In the news
- American journalist and feminist activist Gloria Steinem (pictured) dies at the age of 92.
- Following the Kazakh legislative election , Oljas Bektenov is reappointed Prime Minister of Kazakhstan by the newly established Kurultai.
- Duane Davis is convicted of orchestrating the 1996 murder of American rapper Tupac Shakur.
- In a referendum , Icelanders reject European Union membership negotiations.
On this day
- 1791 – The commissioners overseeing the construction of the United States' new capital city named it Washington , in honor of the first president.
- 1892 – At the Lick Observatory in California, Edward Emerson Barnard discovered Amalthea , a moon of Jupiter and the last natural satellite to be discovered by visual observation.
- 1939 – World War II: About 3,000 Polish Army troops began a nearly month-long defence of the Hel Peninsula during the German invasion of Poland.
- 1962 – French president Charles de Gaulle delivered his "speech to the German youth" to 20,000 people in the courtyard of Ludwigsburg Palace (pictured).
- 1999 – The first banknotes of the Portrait Series of the Singapore dollar were introduced by the Board of Commissioners of Currency.
- Eleanor de' Medici (d. 1611)
- Hugh Grant (b. 1960)
- Mao Zedong (d. 1976)
- Luka Modrić (b. 1985)
Today's featured picture
 | Chief Joseph (1840–1904), also known as Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, was a leader of the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce people in the northwestern United States. He succeeded his father, Old Chief Joseph, in 1871, and resisted efforts to remove his people from their ancestral homeland in the Wallowa Valley. During the Nez Perce War of 1877, Joseph and other leaders guided hundreds of Nez Perce for more than 1,170 miles (1,900 km) while pursued by the United States Army before they were surrounded near the Canadian border. He later campaigned for his people's return home, but remained on the Colville Indian Reservation, where he died in 1904. This portrait photograph of Chief Joseph was taken by the American photographer Edward S. Curtis in 1903. Photograph credit: Edward S. Curtis; restored by Adam Cuerden Recently featured: |