richard_dawkins_-_the_god_delusion

50 THE GOD DELUSION
disagree, and I suspect that when he appeared to do so he was bending
over backwards to concede a point, in the interests of securing
another one. We have all done this at one time or another.
Contrary to Huxley, I shall suggest that the existence of God is
a scientific hypothesis like any other. Even if hard to test in practice,
it belongs in the same TAP or temporary agnosticism box as the
controversies over the Permian and Cretaceous extinctions. God's
existence or non-existence is a scientific fact about the universe, discoverable
in principle if not in practice. If he existed and chose to
reveal it, God himself could clinch the argument, noisily and
unequivocally, in his favour. And even if God's existence is never
proved or disproved with certainty one way or the other, available
evidence and reasoning may yield an estimate of probability far
from 50 per cent.
Let us, then, take the idea of a spectrum of probabilities
seriously, and place human judgements about the existence of God
along it, between two extremes of opposite certainty. The spectrum
is continuous, but it can be represented by the following seven
milestones along the way.
1 Strong theist. 100 per cent probability of God. In the words of
C. G. Jung, 'I do not believe, I know.'
2 Very high probability but short of 100 per cent. De facto
theist. 'I cannot know for certain, but I strongly believe
in God and live my life on the assumption that he is
there.'
3 Higher than 50 per cent but not very high. Technically agnostic
but leaning towards theism. 'I am very uncertain, but I am
inclined to believe in God.'
4 Exactly 50 per cent. Completely impartial agnostic. 'God's
existence and non-existence are exactly equiprobable.'
5 Lower than 50 per cent but not very low. Technically agnostic
but leaning towards atheism. 'I don't know whether God exists
but I'm inclined to be sceptical.'
6 Very low probability, but short of zero. De facto atheist. 'I