The Scientific Burden of Proof
In the sciences, the burden of proof falls to the one proposing a hypothesis. It doesn’t matter what the hypothesis is:
- If you want to propose that Particle X exists, the burden of proof falls to you.
- If you want to propose that Particle X does not exist, the burden again falls to you.
Either way, in science the person proposing a hypothesis needs to provide evidence for it by using the scientific method (i.e., making a prediction based on the hypothesis and then seeing whether the prediction is fulfilled when a test is run).
Only by doing this can the hypothesis be scientifically established (to the extent that anything can ever be scientifically established).
The Philosophical Burden of Proof
Most discussions about the existence of God are not scientific ones. They may involve observations about the universe and things that science studies (e.g., order, design, etc.). However, they also involve premises that cannot be verified scientifically. Many of them involve premises of a philosophical nature, and so the discussion of God’s existence is often regarded as a philosophical matter rather than a scientific one.
Who holds the burden of proof in philosophy? As in science, it’s whoever is making a claim. It doesn’t matter whether you’re:
- asserting the existence or non-existence of Plato’s Forms,
- claiming the truth or falsity of a particular view of epistemology, or
- asserting that moral judgments are just expressions of emotion or something else.
The principle remains the same: The burden is on you to argue for your own claims.
Philosophy may use a different method than science, but its assignation of the burden of proof is the same.
Taken from:
Who Has the Burden of Proof When Discussing God? | Strange Notions