If you cant prove there is an afterlife, can anyone dis prove it?

Question

you cant prove there is an afterlife, but can one skeptic prove there is not an afterlife. therefore, can you completely disprove all spirit activity. serious answers only please.

Answer 1

How can anyone prove there is life after death know one

thats died has ever came back to tell the story, so it's really

a load of cods wallop.

Answer 2

Seriously,a negative CANNOT be disproved.You can no more "PROVE"there is no afterlife than you can "PROVE"there is no Santa Claus.You may dismiss the idea,but neither you,nor anyone else,can "PROVE" Santa Claus doesn't exist.It is up to the person making the positive claim to "PROVE" something does exist.This goes for anything.Afterlife,unicorns,

elves,flying teapots,aliens,anything.A negative cannot be disproved.this does not mean one should accept claims without evidence.Some things you just have to use common sense.Really,try to scientifically prove Santa DOESN'T exist.you can't

Answer 3

In terms of philosophy (logic), if you can't prove there is an afterlife, the notion of afterlife can be "disproved." But, at this point, neither can be proven. Concrete evidience is needed.

Answer 4

First from a logic point of view the answer to your statement

"if you can't prove X can someone disprove it" is YES

(one reason being that once something is disproved it cannot be proved, but can be disproved over and over again - I am talking in absolutes here)

However just because someone cannot prove something does not mean it is wrong - Einstein's theory of relativity was not proved until long after he had proposed it.

SO YOU SHOULDN'T DISCOUNT SOMETHING JUST BECAUSE it has not be proved definatively. You should also consider what evidence is there to disprove the theory, and is there evidence that does support the claim.

So what evidence is their that their might be an afterlife ?

1) religious teaching (many and varied faiths)

What is the evidence against an afterlife

2) you have not met (I assume) someone who died and came back to life.

From a Christian perspective (I am one) I would argue that there is someone who died and came back to life (actually several people in the bible were brought back to life, but lets focus on the key one). His name was Jesus Christ. While I have not personally met him I have written accounts from people who claim to have seen him after he died and came back to life

For example:

"That ...., which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. Life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us [1Jn1:1-3]

Another claim is made at the end of the gospel of John following the description of Jesus's resurection

"This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true"

(Jn 21:24)

So what it boils down to for me as a christian is do I accept what the bible claims or not. I do because in my opinion there is much evidence that supports the claims of the bible.

For everyone they will give different value to the evidence. For some unless they can see and touch it, I can't prove it exists. For others they will accept other peoples experience.

i.e. can I prove China exists to someone if I cannot take them there.

I can introduce them to people who have been there and give them books written by people who whave been there but if they insist on only accepting personal experience then that will not be sufficient.

Answer 5

You can't prove a negative

Answer 6

I'm afraid this is all a r s e about face.

If you have a theory (or a belief) on anything then the burden of proof is on you as the instigator to prove that your theory or belief exists.

It is well nigh impossible to prove that something does not exist but a proper scientific approach is to weigh up the available evidence for something. I could say to you that I believe that there are intelligent beings from the planet Zog living on Earth - I offer no proof of this - but I challenge you to prove that this is not true. The fact that you couldn't prove it wouldn't mean that the beings exist would it?

In the same way, if you can offer no proof that the afterlife exists, then your theory or your belief immediately collapses. It then becomes entirely a matter of your own faith.

Answer 7

You don't need proof that there is or not.

What is cold, is it real or just a word?  Is Evil real or is it just a word?

No they are real:  cold is the absents of heat Right!  Evil is the absents of good.  The real answer you already have.  Just listen and be honest with yourself.  Life is learning to live happy.  So do what makes you happy.

Answer 8

Well, once we are dead we will know....or not know, depending.  But there is no way to tell anyone else about it.

Answer 9

no. You just gotta have faith Like George Michael.

The energy that is our souls can never be destroyed

Answer 10

I do not believe anything for which there is no evidence.

Answer 11

No, you can't. The hypothesis that there is an afterlife is not a falsifiable one, so neither science nor skeptic can claim that there is no afterlife as a fact.

Along the same lines, the hypothesis that there are invisible gnomes dancing under my front porch cannot be disproven, either.

Just because something can't be proven false doesn't mean it's true. I'm not saying that there is an afterlife or there isn't, just that the form of logic you seem to be suggesting here doesn't hold much water.

Answer 12

The only thing that makes me happy is to watch reruns of Hobo Kelly.

I see Johhny and Jimmy and Polly and Cecil and....

Answer 13

You can't prove or dis prove it.

Answer 14

the fact that you cant prove it proves that it is a load of bull

Answer 15

nope! we have no proof either way!

Answer 16

not all people have the same understanding and wisdom.other disprove it other beleive it.but i am sure the answer to your question will always be =positively there is afterlife.humans unlike anim,als have spirit.this spirit is alive when the physical body is corrupted or damaged due to old age.the posibility of afterlife is =there are always restless spirits around and trying to tell something important that every human should not missed while alive here on earth.the final destination of human spirit will be answered (by this question) if the human belong to GOD or separated from GOD the CREATOR.

Answer 17

no, you can't. same for God, for that matter

Answer 18

I can think of 10,000 things that I've simply made up (say, there are dwarves living underneath your house), and unless I prove them to you, you have NO reason to believe in them.

Afterlife? I have no reason to "believe" in something that any of you can't prove.

Answer 19

No you cannot prove or disprove anything. You can only believe what you choose to believe.

Answer 20

Every thing is based on belief.

Answer 21

Skeptics put the burden of proof on those who make the claim.  Many will not believe anything unless they have seen it with their own eyes.

The unusual thing about spiritual phenomenon is that it occurs in the spiritual realm, not the physical realm. It is very difficult to present physical evidence of a non-physical phenomenon.  And so, it's nearly impossible to prove a spiritual event to somebody who only believes in the physical.

The only way to present proof of the non-physical to a skeptic is for them to have a personal experience with the phenomenon.  Some skeptics are willing to give it a try, and others believe that it is a waste of time.  Those who don't try will never believe and never learn about the parts of the world that are beyond the physical.  They are like the religious zealot that will not accept evolution because it is counter to what they have been taught is truth.  That is their loss.

I don't believe there is an afterlife; I know that it is there due to personal experience.  Just as I know there are owls in my yard even though nobody else has been here to see them, I know there is a world beyond the physical world.  The evidence is convincing enough for me. I don't feel the need to convince others who are more interested in voicing an opinion than learning about the world.

Answer 22

Belief is all the believer really needs, but a room full of evidence would not prove a thing to a skeptic.

Answer 23

Until someone goes there and comes back.All we can do is ask and argue about it endlessly and futilely.