Big fan of Carl Sagan, he was like a father figure to me, I’m partially molded by him.
That said, something he used to say all the time really baffled me, still does:
“Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence”
He said this when talking about aliens.
However: Sagan was a famous non believer.
How does this aphorism reconcile with the existence or non existence of a god?
If “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” does that apply to a god as well?
Is there a god even though there is no evidence of him/her/it?
In: 95
I’ve heard it used in religious studies as well, funny enough.
The reasoning is that if we assuming something doesn’t exist it kind of gives us tunnel vision and if proof were to arise we go in with a bias against it. Basically, if you are going to study something like the existence or God or aliens you need to maintain an open mind to motivate you to continue your search.
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