NOM

It's impossible to prove a negative" is a phrase I hear tossed around in debates and epistemology from time to time. It hasn't yet been proven true.
Curiously Dallin Oaks and Charlie Kirk have both used variations of this phrase to defend their apologetics. Oaks said in a speech to CES people that the BOM could never be proven false and that the best that critics could hope for was a draw.
Charlie Kirk's motto was "Prove me wrong" which gave him the advantage, at least in his own mind, of putting opponents in an impossible bind.
I think it is probably a matter of semantics and epistemology. I betting some of you may have a better understanding of this old argument.

The statement "you can't prove a negative" is a common saying that generally means it's difficult or impossible to definitively show the non-existence of something, especially a vague or universal claim. However, this saying is not a strict rule of logic; many negatives can be proven, particularly those that are logically inconsistent (like a square circle) or those with specific, limited scope that can be exhaustively checked. The difficulty often lies in the practical limitations of observation and the philosophical concept of the burden of proof, which places the responsibility of proof on the person making the positive claim.

When Proving a Negative is Difficult

• Vague or Universal Claims: It's hard to prove there are no unicorns anywhere in the universe because you can't search every single location.
• Absence of Evidence: Proving that something doesn't exist based on a lack of evidence is often not a valid proof.

When Proving a Negative is Possible

• Logical Contradictions: You can prove a negative by demonstrating a logical impossibility. For example, one can prove that a "square circle" cannot exist because that would be both a square and not a square simultaneously.
• Specific, Limited Claims: If someone claims there's a specific person under your bed, you can prove that negative claim by simply looking under the bed and seeing that no one is there.
• Converting Negatives to Positives: Many negative claims can be logically rewritten into equivalent positive claims. For instance, the claim "no elephants are in my room" is equivalent to "every item in my room is not an elephant".
  Inconsistent Claims: You can prove a negative by showing that the claim itself is logically inconsistent.

Misconceptions and the "Burden of Proof"

• The Statement is Self-Defeating: The claim "you can't prove a negative" is itself a negative statement, and if it were true, it would be unprovable, creating a logical contradiction.
• It's About Burden of Proof: When people say "you can't prove a negative," they often mean it's irrational to demand that someone prove a negative; the burden of proof is on the person making the positive claim. For example, in a legal setting, a defendant is not required to prove they are innocent; the prosecution must prove they are guilty.

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