Topics Religion

Question Is it theoretically possible to disprove the existence of God? Could a future conceptual or scientific breakthrough ever really absolutely prove the non-existence of a higher power?

Accepted:
November 4, 2005

Comments

I am uneasy with the phrase "absolutely prove...non-existence." It is difficult to imagine what sort of scientific discovery could "absolutely prove" the non-existence of something. I am inclined to think that scientific evidence just doesn't work that way.

On the other hand, there have been a number of arguments offered for the claim that the very concept of God is logically incoherent. If something can be shown to be logically contradictory, then this does seem like a decisive proof of non-existence.

A fairly extensive survey of such arguments appears in Michael Martin's Atheism: A Philosophical Justification, chapter 12. But I think it is fair to say that the philosophical world has not been completely won over by any of these arguments. Most philosophers who are atheists, I surmise, would say only that the evidence available to us strongly favors disbelief in God, rather than "absolutely proves" it. Of course, there remain a number philosophers who regard the weight of evidence as favoring belief in God. Martin's book also discusses many of their arguments, as well, though Martin's own views are obvious from the title.

Question Is it theoretically possible to disprove the existence of God? Could a future conceptual or scientific breakthrough ever really absolutely prove the non-existence of a higher power? Accepted:November 4, 2005

Question Is it theoretically possible to disprove the existence of God? Could a future conceptual or scientific breakthrough ever really absolutely prove the non-existence of a higher power?

Accepted:
November 4, 2005