Recently, a co-worker used the term agnostic to indicate that he had no strong preference for either of the two options under consideration. I don't remember exactly what the discussion was about, but his statement was essentially:
"I am agnostic as to whether we go with A or option B."
I would use the term indifferent or, less formally, I don't care. Is this an appropriate use for agnostic?
The OED lists its principal meaning as the religious one:
A person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of immaterial things, especially of the existence or nature of God. Distinguished from atheist n.
The meaning that your colleague is adopting is described by the OED as an 'extended use' of the term. See below.
In extended use: a person who is not persuaded by or committed to a particular point of view; a sceptic. Also: person of indeterminate ideology or conviction; an equivocator.
So they were not using it wrongly, but in an alternate form to the main meaning.
It sounded very strange to me, but the online Merriam-Webster gives this as one of its definitions for agnostic: a person who is unwilling to commit to an opinion about something , and it also lists the word as an adjective. So, "I am agnostic as to whether we go with A or option B" appears to be acceptable.
Agnostic (in non-religious usage) properly means that one has not or cannot come to an opinion on a matter. There are many reasons for that, and indifference is only one of them. Another would be an insufficiency of evidence, or a contractual prohibition of favouritism.
It sounds like the fellow in question is thinking of the term as it has been used in the software industry (unfortunately, IMHO) for several years. Example: "The new app is platform-agnostic." This means that the app will run regardless if you are (for example) a Mac or PC user, or a Windows 8 or WindowsXP user.
No sir! The word gnostic is the root of agnostic, and that has all to do with religion--not to do with indifference. Occasionally (rarely), the word agnostic is used to describe a non-committal attitude, but it really doesn't fit in your example sentence. To see why you need to look up the definition of gnostic. From Merriam-Webster:
the thought and practice especially of various cults of late pre-Christian and early Christian centuries distinguished by the conviction that matter is evil and that emancipation comes through gnosis [esoteric knowledge of spiritual truth held by the ancient Gnostics to be essential to salvation]
Now, remember that the prefix "a-" means "without". If you stretch this definition a bit, you can probably understand what a statement like, "He abstained from voting because he felt agnostic on the subject of the candidates' proposed policy changes." In this case, "agnostic" doesn't mean that the speaker doesn't care. It means that the speaker feels a distinct lack of conviction. In other words, that he or she isn't confident in either choice, and the speaker is using the word "agnostic" to explain that the reason he or she isn't voting at all is precisely because he or she isn't on board with either option. Your friend might have said, "I will not make a choice because I am agnostic on the matter," but it would be ridiculous for an every day kind of thing because the choice between A and B is probably not consequential enough in the first place that it would require any kind of conviction or certainty.
You're looking for the word apathy, but it doesn't quite fit in the example sentence. Apathy describes a complete lack of concern. You can feel apathetic on a particular topic, such as religion or the question of how Obama is doing as the President, but apathy isn't the best choice for a simple question because the word apathy is used when the topic being discussed is something about which you seemingly should care.
Agnostic
someone who is doubtful or noncommittal about something eg:
Though I am agnostic on what terms to use, ...
Using agnostic as a response is a clever way to express non-commital indifference. The religious undertone gives it power on non-religious subjects in my view. I noticed this usage on a news show and was impressed with the way it got my attention.
