Emil du Bois-Reymond included the Latin phrase ‘Ignoramus et ignorabimus’ (‘we do not know, and we will not know’) in his book, ‘The 7 Enigmas of the Universe.’ In this work, he maintained that when encountering the logical limits of thought, the fundamental problems of the functioning of the Universe are unsolvable. This expression has since been adopted as a motto by modern agnosticism. Despite the advancements in quantum physics, precision cosmology, and the standard theory of the Big Bang, agnosticism can still be maintained. This justifies the title chosen for this book, in which the author aim to systematize the epistemological skepticism of postmodernity.
This book provides a systematic overview of the scope of our current philosophical and scientific ignorance. To this end, a set of aphorisms and sentences is presented, which, in a concise manner, summarize the boundaries of our purported knowledge and ignorance regarding the concept of Being.
In essence, the central argument can be summarized in two sentences. Firstly, it posits that the ultimate fate and purpose of the world are unknown. Secondly, it suggests that even God may not possess this knowledge. Furthermore, it proposes that the uncertainty surrounding the end of our lives, much like the outcome of a football match, adds to our enjoyment of them.
The text is structured into a series of brief sentences for optimal readability. In addition to the philosophical statements, which may be classified as "philosophical aphorisms," the author includes other sentences that address our ignorance and our scientific knowledge of the universe.
He proposes the use of the term "scientologism," derived from the Greek words for "science" for the latter. For the former he suggests "agnoiologism," derived from Agnoiology, which denotes a statement pertaining to our limited understanding of the nature of the Being.
Agnoiology (from the Greek ἀγνοέω, meaning ignorance) is the theoretical study of the quality and conditions of ignorance, and in particular of what can truly be considered "unknowable" (as distinct from "unknown"). The term was coined by James Frederick Ferrier, in his Institutes of Metaphysic (1854), as a foil to the theory of knowledge, or epistemology.