Question

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Prove it doesn’t...

Which fallacy describes counter-arguing with the negative of the proposition being posed? As an example, when arguing that there is no evidence or “proof” that a given conspiracy exists, the counter argument always seems to arise “prove it doesn’t exist”, as if proving the negative will invalidate the lack of evidence for the positive. Which fallacy is this?

asked on Tuesday, Aug 25, 2020 07:13:30 AM by

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Answers

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TrappedPrior (RotE)
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Person A: Makes a claim.

Person B: Prove it's true.

Person A: No, you prove it's false!

This is Shifting of the Burden of Proof. The onus probandi is on Person A (the proponent), not Person B (the skeptic) to provide evidence or a logical argument. Once this is done, the burden then shifts to the skeptic to refute the evidence or argument.

Where no evidence is given, there is no reason to accept a claim that is not self-evident or at least conceivable, so there's no basis for reversing the burden of proof on Person A's part.

answered on Tuesday, Aug 25, 2020 07:18:04 AM by TrappedPrior (RotE)

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account no longer exists writes:

It’s more like this:

Person A: x conspiracy theory bla bla

Person B: “There’s no proof that x is true.”

Person A: “well, prove x is not true.”

I understand it’s Shifting The Burden of Proof and that may be all it is, but it seems there is a larger logical fallacy in Person A’s line of thinking. This is a common response from followers of Q when drops from Qanon are logically discredited: if you can’t prove it’s true, then prove it’s not true. 

posted on Tuesday, Aug 25, 2020 08:08:22 PM
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Jason Mathias
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"Person A: x conspiracy theory bla bla

Person B: “There’s no proof that x is true.”

Person A: “well, prove x is not true.”

That would be an Argument from Ignorance Fallacy:

Logical Forms:

X is true because you cannot prove that X is false.

X is false because you cannot prove that X is true.

answered on Tuesday, Aug 25, 2020 10:48:07 PM by Jason Mathias

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