Why do people insist that unless a thing can be proved not to exist that it should be believed?

Question

Is that why I have been getting so many orders for my herd of pink unicorns? They are going fast folk I'm afraid I will have them all sold before the last order comes in.

Answer 1

I know we didn't come from monkeys because I never did like bananas or snakes. lol

Answer 2

It is a peculiar delusion of the religious minded. They don't understand, in logic, the burden of proof lies with the party making the positive assertion. i.e. God exists. Logically it is impossible to disprove a negative. I can't disprove the existence of your heard of pink unicorns, or a teapot orbiting the sun, or leprachauns with a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary proof....and what could be more extraordinary a claim than an all powerful omniscient supreme creator of all the universe master of time and space....except that he's shy.

Answer 3

The answer is: they don't, usually. People largely reject belief in things that cannot be proven to exist. No one believes, for example, in an invisible teacup orbiting a planet in outer space, even though we can't disprove it. It's not the case that people are just stupid or that they lack any sense of logic in their normal, day-to-day, activities; rather, it's the case that people suspend critical thought, at least to a certain extent and in certain ways, when dealing with deeply-held beliefs, such as ones that have been instilled in them from a young age. Another aspect is the sheer popularity of certain beliefs; if 90% of the world's population believed in Santa Claus, for example, then there would be a lot fewer people saying that Santa Claus isn't real--and a lot more demanding that we be "agnostic" about Santa because he can't be disproven--even in lieu of any reliable verifications of his existence. So, the reason people are not entirely consistent with their normal logical standards is because of social and psychological pressures.

Answer 4

Believe it or not RADON Gas.. You can’t see it, smell it, or taste it. But it can kill you. Believe it or not ELECTRICITY resides in your wall outlet. Even when nothing is plugged into it and you have power going to your house. You can’t see it, smell it, taste it. You have to have faith that it is there.

Glad to see your pink unicorns are selling well. Now try and sell some faith in humanity.

Answer 5

Pink unicorns don't exist. Therefore, God does exist.

See, I've just proved it.

Answer 6

Because they do not understand the scientific method and that trying to prove a null-hypothesis is a waste of time?

Answer 7

I believe that the color of air is red. It's invisible, and it's red. No one can tell me otherwise, until you show me proof that it isn't red. Until then, I'm right, and you're all wrong. Show me proof that the air isn't red.

Answer 8

Can you explain that to my girlfriend? Can she prove I DIDN'T actually lose my keys in that other woman's crotch? With my pants down? Alone on our bed?

Answer 9

Yes, Ill take 4 gross

Answer 10

"sometimes seeing is believing; but sometimes the most real thing out there are the things you can't see"
-Polar Express