Proof - a philosophical question

I wanted to post this question to see what people's opinions are, and what justification they have for holding such an opinion. Here is the question:

Do you believe it's possible to prove that there are some things which cannot be disproved?

I'd love to hear people's answer to this. Please answer which way you believe, and if possible, your reasoning for your belief.

reply to post by spartacus mills


Of course there are many things in this World which can't be disproved!! Anything that you can see, feel, touch, taste can never be disproved! Whatever is/does not Visual or has some kind of smell or taste has to be proved!

However if you are referring to what we see in the news like a bomb blast and who has placed the bomb then yes that has to be proved!
If you are in court for some reason then of course it has to be proved that you did it!

If you are referring to Alien Activity then this too has to be proved!

Why are you asking this question? I'm sure it is a Rhetorical one



I actually think your question should read:

Are there things in this World which CAN be disproved?

Or

Are there things in this World which CAN'T be proved?

You have 2 negatives in the question.... CAN'T and DISPROVED!

It's like saying: I don't see nothing or i can't see nothing


[edit on 2-9-2009 by TruthxIsxInxThexMist]

Wow, that is a loaded question. But since you posed it as a philisophical point, I will answer in kind.

The answer is nothing can ever be proven.

You experience the world through your senses. These senses shape your reality. Thus, your interpretation of facts is colored by your senses. When the senses fail you or read differant than others, then your interpretation is changed. As is your reality. When we make absolutists statements, such as "it is raining", we are in fact, making a generalized statement that in order to be perfectly accurate must be qualified to an nth degree.

For example, it is raining. But actually, it is rainining where I am standing. And only in the time period where the rain is actualy falling. And only during the time when the rain is reaching the ground where I can see it. And, depending on the true nature of time, only in this possible universe where I am currently making this concious claim of rain.

I'm going to have to agree with rogerstigers. It's all just our perception of things. Nothing can be proven, or disproved. There are just so many possibilities that anything can happen, and won't happen.

Originally posted by rogerstigers


The answer is nothing can ever be proven.

The answer is nothing can ever be proven

You have proved my point here..... you just said NOTHING CAN EVER BE PROVEN!

Well if there is NOTHING to prove in the first place then of course, it can't be proved!

There are few things, if any, that can be proven absolutely. One of them was discovered by Descartes: I think therefore I am. To doubt the external world is perfectly logical, but to doubt your own existence is impossible, with what are you doubting? your mind. So logically your mind exists and everything else is questionable.

Do you believe it's possible to prove that there are some things which cannot be disproved?

I am unsure if this is what you mean, but here are two statements:

There is a sentence of number theory which can be proven to be true, but is false.
There is a sentence of number theory which is true, but cannot be proven to be true.

It has been proven that neither of those statements can be disproven, because at least one of them is true, but it cannot be proven which.

That this is so is implied by Godel's Theorem (searchable). For "number theory," you can substitute many other formal, logical, and mathematical systems.

So, yes. If that is what you mean, then it has been done.

Here's a short article. They all give you an ice cream headache, so short is good .

www.cscs.umich.edu...

You can never say there is nothing there as there is always something there whether we see it or not

I should probably clarify what the question implies, as it seems that most are misinterpreting it. It is not a trick question, I genuinely want to hear people's opinions and reasons.

It is not asking: can anything be proved? or, can anything be disproved?

It is simply asking: is it possible to prove something as non-disprovable.

For example, if i were to present a postulate (a), although it may not be possible to prove that (a) is either true or false, it may nevertheless be possible to prove that it is IMPOSSIBLE to prove that (a) is false.

In this case, (a) would remain undetermined. However, proving that (a) is not disprovable, does not necessarily render it impossible to prove it to be true at some point in the future.

'eight bits' interpreted the question correctly, and provided a very good example.

Sorry for any confusion!

Originally posted by TruthxIsxInxThexMist

Originally posted by rogerstigers


The answer is nothing can ever be proven.

The answer is nothing can ever be proven

You have proved my point here..... you just said NOTHING CAN EVER BE PROVEN!

Well if there is NOTHING to prove in the first place then of course, it can't be proved!

Well, to be honest, I didn't prove anything. I stated my opinion. But I will still give your a touche.

Originally posted by rogerstigers
The answer is nothing can ever be proven.

If this is what you believe, does this also mean that you believe that the statement:

'Nothing can ever be proven'

cannot be proved?

Okay,

We cannot prove God, Jesus, the Devil, Angels, aliens.

We cannot prove the end of the world.

We cannot prove who will win in the end.

Originally posted by spellbound
We cannot prove God, Jesus, the Devil, Angels, aliens.

We cannot prove the end of the world.

We cannot prove who will win in the end.

But can you prove that they cannot be disproved?

reply to post by spartacus mills


Obviously not.

That was obvious in my post.

Giant yawn.

reply to post by spartacus mills


I think you'll find the question of proof and it's acceptance into the main stream is a question of acceptance of a fact by the majority. Sure you can have individuals that branch off and have their own beliefs but these are often labeled as charlatans or just unable to grasp the truth. Because at the end of the day when presented with fact most should be able to make a rational decision as to whether it is fact or not.

The whole question of can you disprove something which cannot be disproved is easy to answer. The majority rules in our reality so once proof is established and accepted by the majority it is embrased and rarely disproved by the minority. It's mostly a question of fact remains fact until something clearer or better comes along! To try and disprove what is already established as fact is for the most part foolhardy, unless of course you have some radical insight into something the majority aren't aware of, in which case you will need to educate them with the new findings.

Originally posted by spartacus mills

Originally posted by rogerstigers
The answer is nothing can ever be proven.

If this is what you believe, does this also mean that you believe that the statement:

'Nothing can ever be proven'

cannot be proved?

Of Course.