Q&A: Can it be proven that something does not exist?
Can it be proven that something does not exist?
Question
Hello Rabbi, There is a very well-known atheist argument claiming that you can’t prove that something does not exist, like the teapot argument and the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
I heard an American philosopher claim that it is possible to prove that something does not exist, but the problem is that he gave examples like “it can be proven that there is no Muslim member of parliament in Congress” — that is, things that can be seen with our own eyes. Elsewhere he said that it is possible to prove that fairies do not exist, but he did not explain why…
In your view, is it possible to prove the non-existence of fairies, or the non-existence of mermaids that might somehow exist?
(Of course this does not apply to God, because there is evidence for His existence, but if philosophically one can prove the non-existence of fairies, then an atheist would be required to prove that God does not exist, and not just answer theistic arguments.
Answer
There are non-existence claims that can be translated into existence claims. That’s not much of a trick. The principled claim concerns non-existence claims that cannot be translated in that way.
I’m not familiar with a proof that fairies do not exist, and I can’t think of such a proof.