Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index The fallacy of negative proof is a type of logical fallacy of the following form: "No one has produced an example of one; therefore it doesn't exist." While the assertion has some strength as an epistemic directive, logically it has none. Logically one may argue that just because we have not observed a particular phenomenon, that is no reason to exclude its possibility. The epistemological slant though is to require a demonstration, before one admits that one is compelled to admit the phenomenon as real. The problem with the argument is precisely that it has no logical force, but is nevertheless a necessary guiding principle for scientists. On the converse someone disputing the ancestry of man amongst the lower apes; will invariably point to the lack of demonstrated intermediary stages (The missing link). The often used rejoinder to this and other similar proffered arguments is: "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence!" A proper resolution of these conflicting uses is a delicate task. See also: Argument from silence; Lack of imagination This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.