Proving Non-Existence
A claimant shifts the burden of proof by treating someone’s inability to disprove existence as evidence that something exists. Some non-existence claims can be proved; the issue is whether the claimant has supplied adequate support for the particular claim.
THE IDEA
Proving Non-Existence
Description: Demanding proof that something does not exist instead of providing adequate evidence that it does. Non-existence can sometimes be established by a proof, a contradiction or an exhaustive search within a defined scope. Failure to disprove an unrestricted claim, however, is not evidence that the claim is true.
Logical Form:
- Person 1 claims that X exists.
- Person 2 asks Person 1 for evidence.
- Person 1 instead demands that Person 2 prove X does not exist and treats the lack of a disproof as confirmation.
Example #1:
- Theists may have some decent reasons to believe in the existence of God, but, “because the existence of God cannot be disproven”, is not one of them.
Example #2:
- Once again we are dealing with a confusion of probability and possibility. The inability to, “prove”, in any sense of the word, that the ghost of Elvis is not visiting Sheila in her dreams is an impossible request, because there is no test that proves the existence and presence of a ghost, so no way to prove the negative or the non-existence. It is up to Sheila to provide proof of this claim, or at least acknowledge that actually being visited by Elvis’ ghost is just a possibility, no matter how slim that possibility is.
Exception: If Ron were to say, “That is impossible”, “there is no way you are being visited”, or make some other claim that rules out any possibility, no matter how remote (or crazy), then Sheila would be in the right to ask him for proof – as long as she is making a point that he cannot know that for certain, and not actually expecting him to produce proof.
Tip: If you think you are being visited by aliens, gods, spirits, ghosts, or any other magical beings, just ask them for information that you can verify, specifically with a neutral third-party, that would prove their existence. This would be simple for any advanced alien race, any god or heavenly being. Some ideas of things to ask for:
- A detailed prediction of an event that can be independently observed.
- A physical object that appears from nowhere.
- A message that contains information known only to you and a distant third party.
But if these beings just tell you things like:
- "You are special"
- "You must keep this secret"
- "The skeptics are all wrong"
...or anything else which is just as likely to come from your imagination that is untestable and unfalsifiable, then you might want to reconsider the fact that your being of choice is really paying you visits.
When to use it
In a debate about the existence of extraterrestrial life, one side demands proof that aliens do not exist, shifting the burden of proof incorrectly.
When evaluating claims of supernatural occurrences, such as ghost sightings, the claimant must provide evidence rather than asking skeptics to disprove the event.
In statistical testing, distinguish rejecting a null hypothesis from failing to reject it; failure to reject does not prove the null hypothesis true.
In legal arguments, identify which party bears the relevant burden of proof instead of treating a failure to disprove an allegation as sufficient evidence for it.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
God's Existence
Theists may have some decent reasons to believe in the existence of God, but, “because the existence of God cannot be disproven”, is not one of them.
Ghost of Elvis
Once again we are dealing with a confusion of probability and possibility. The inability to, “prove”, in any sense of the word, that the ghost of Elvis is not visiting Sheila in her dreams is an impossible request, because there is no test that proves the existence and presence of a ghost, so no way to prove the negative or the non-existence. It is up to Sheila to provide proof of this claim, or at least acknowledge that actually being visited by Elvis’ ghost is just a possibility, no matter how slim that possibility is.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
Think of a time when someone demanded that you prove that something does not exist. How did you handle it, and what could you have done differently?
What makes some negative claims provable and others difficult to test? Consider the scope of the claim and the evidence available.
How does the burden of proof apply in debates about paranormal phenomena? Who should provide evidence, and why?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Logically Fallacious - The Ultimate Collection of Over 300 Logical Fallacies