What is proof? What does it mean to 'prove' something?

Discussion in 'General Philosophy' started by spinner981, Jan 7, 2016.

  1. C C Consular Corps - "the backbone of diplomacy" Valued Senior Member

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    Yes. "Proof" becomes serious slash literal (as opposed to casual usages) in a closed, formal system which features fixed / immutable properties, rules, concepts, standards, etc. Where continued developments in that system depend upon demonstrations of reducing such to or of such being commensurable and consistent with the system's fundamental furniture / axioms (and certainly the abstract description of the proposed item being internally coherent with itself).
     
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  3. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    spinner981:

    There's no reason to suppose that science will eventually figure everything out. However, nobody has yet suggested a better method for figuring things out.

    The problem with the supernatural is that there's no persuasive evidence that anything supernatural actually exists.

    We don't know everything about the big bang yet, including whether or not it had a cause. It is possible that no cause was needed. In fact, if time began with the big bang it may actually be meaningless to talk about anything that happened before the bang.

    Have you ask theists what caused God? If they tell you that God needs no cause, perhaps you should ask them why they think the big bang needs a cause, then. Obviously they believe in at least one thing that doesn't need a cause.

    Also, if you say God caused the big bang, then it seems to me that you're introducing a complicated new hypothesis that then needs its own explanation.

    Do you believe in the literal truth of the Genesis story, then? Which version of Creation do you believe - the one in Genesis chapter 1, or the one in Genesis chapter 2? You realise that they contradict one another, I assume. How old do you think the Earth is? Is that compatible with what you understand from the bible?

    If you have questions about those couple of theories, this forum might be a good place to get some answers.

    To me, it doesn't make sense to posit a supernatural cause for a natural effect.
     
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