How does “You can’t prove a negative” work?
In: Mathematics
This is a refrain used in debates to indicate when your opponent is making an argument that can’t be proven due to its construction. They generally have to do with concepts that are unknowable, like the truth value of a religion, but they could be about a knowable subject that there isn’t adequate information to prove.
For example, if I ask you to prove that you haven’t committed any murders, or else I will throw you in jail, it would be hard for you to prove your innocence that way. In order to prove it, you would have to provide evidence of every activity you’ve ever done. It’s unlikely that you could provide enough information to prove your innocence due to my construction of the inquiry.
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