Hitchens' razor
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Hitchens' razor is a law in epistemology (philosophical razor), which states that the burden of proof or onus in a debate lies with the claim-maker, and if he or she does not meet it, the opponent does not need to argue against the unfounded claim. It is named for journalist and writer Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011), who formulated it thus:[1][2]
| “ | What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. | ” |
Hitchens' razor is actually a translation of the Latin proverb "Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur",[3] which has been widely used since at least the early 19th century,[4] but Hitchens' English rendering of the phrase has made it more widely known in the 21st century. It is used, for example, to counter presuppositional apologetics.
Richard Dawkins, a fellow atheist activist of Hitchens, formulated a different version of the same law that has the same implication, at TED in February 2002:[5]
| “ | The onus is on you to say why, the onus is not on the rest of us to say why not. | ” |
Dawkins used his version to argue against agnosticism, which he described as "poor" in comparison to atheism,[6] because it refuses to judge on claims that are, even though not wholly falsifiable, very unlikely to be true.
[edit] See also
- Flying Spaghetti Monster
- Invisible Pink Unicorn
- List of eponymous laws
- Occam's Razor
- Razor (philosophy)
- Russell's teapot
- The Demon-Haunted World
[edit] References
- ^ Christopher Hitchens, "Mommie Dearest" - slate.com. October 20, 2003.
- ^ Christopher Hitchens, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (2007). Twelve Books, New York.
- ^ Jon R. Stone, The Routledge Dictionary of Latin Quotations (2005), p. 101.
- ^ e.g. The Classical Journal , Vol. 40 (1829), p. 312.
- ^ Richard Dawkins, Militant Atheism - ted.com. February, 2002.
- ^ Richard Dawkins, "The Poverty of Agnosticism" in: The God Delusion (2006). Bantam Books, London.
