--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fact that we can neither prove nor…" description: "\"“The fact that we can neither prove nor disprove the existence of something does not put existence and non-existence on an even footing.”\" — Richard Da..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c9/richard-dawkins-115_life_the-fact-that-we-can-neither-prove-nor-d_1492409.jpg" --- # The fact that we can neither prove nor disprove the… ![“The fact that we can neither prove nor disprove the existence of something does not put existence and non-existence on an even footing.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c9/richard-dawkins-115_life_the-fact-that-we-can-neither-prove-nor-d_1492409.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c9/richard-dawkins-115_life_the-fact-that-we-can-neither-prove-nor-d_1492409.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c9/richard-dawkins-115_life_the-fact-that-we-can-neither-prove-nor-d_1492409.jpg) > ““The fact that we can neither prove nor disprove the existence of something does not put existence and non-existence on an even footing.”” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The inability to prove or disprove something doesn’t make it equally plausible; evidence matters. **In simple terms:** Just because we can’t test something doesn’t mean it’s as likely as its opposite. Key Takeaway Seek evidence, not false equivalence. Themes epistemology logic science skepticism belief truth Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - debates - policy making - education - media reporting Key Concepts philosophy of science critical thinking probability Questions to Reflect On - What evidence would change your view? - How do you handle uncertainty? A Different Perspective Equating unknowns can mislead public discourse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Non existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/non-existence/) [Probability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probability/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Skepticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skepticism/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) ## Related quotes > [“So it is that existence and non-existence give birth the one to (the idea of) the other;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/so-it-is-that-existence-and-non-existence-give-birth-the-one-to-the/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [Our adaptation to the natural forces is a question of existence or non-existence. We cannot transform the universe or nature so that they adapt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-bordeaux-szekely/our-adaptation-to-the-natural-forces-is-a-question-of-existence-or/) [Edmond Bordeaux Szekely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-bordeaux-szekely/) > [If there is existence, there must be non-existence. And if there was a time when nothing existed, there must have been a time before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/if-there-is-existence-there-must-be-non-existence-and-if-there-was-a/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [It can no longer be maintained that the properties of any one thing in the universe are independent of the existence or non-existence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/it-can-no-longer-be-maintained-that-the-properties-of-any-one-thing/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Sleep is the boundary between being/existence and not-being/non-existence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wasif-ali-wasif/sleep-is-the-boundary-between-being-existence-and-not-being-non/) [Wasif Ali Wasif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wasif-ali-wasif/) > [“To be an atheist is to maintain God. His existence or his non existence, it amounts to much the same, on the plane of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-be-an-atheist-is-to-maintain-god-his-existence-or-his-non/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [The existence of a single atheist does not disprove the existence of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-devault/the-existence-of-a-single-atheist-does-not-disprove-the-existence-of/) William F. DeVault > [“This belief, that science eradicates (the need for) God, is a myth many people believe today. The truth is that science, the study of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-morrison/this-belief-that-science-eradicates-the-need-for-god-is-a-myth-many/) [Jon Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-morrison/) > [While it may be impossible to 'disprove' the existence of some 'Higher Power' or abstract Creator, it is entirely possible — through analysis and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/while-it-may-be-impossible-to-disprove-the-existence-of-some-higher/) [David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [The kind of knowledge which is supported only by observations and is not yet proved must be carefully distinguished from the truth; it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonhard-euler/the-kind-of-knowledge-which-is-supported-only-by-observations-and-is/) [Leonhard Euler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonhard-euler/) > [Science's tools will never prove or disprove God's existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/science-s-tools-will-never-prove-or-disprove-god-s-existence/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Skeptics question the validity of a particular claim by calling for evidence to prove or disprove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/skeptics-question-the-validity-of-a-particular-claim-by-calling-for/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [You should not put too much trust in any unproved conjecture, even if it has been propounded by a great authority, even if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-polya/you-should-not-put-too-much-trust-in-any-unproved-conjecture-even-if/) [George Polya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-polya/) > [Incidentally, when we're faced with a "prove or disprove," we're usually better off trying first to disprove with a counterexample, for two reasons: A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-graham/incidentally-when-we-re-faced-with-a-prove-or-disprove-we-re-usually/) [Ronald Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-graham/) > [“That you cannot prove God’s non-existence is accepted and trivial, if only in the sense that we can never absolutely prove the non-existence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/that-you-cannot-prove-god-s-non-existence-is-accepted-and-trivial-if/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More Existence quotes > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. 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