Tag, You're It: That Pesky Burden of Proof
Who has the burden of proof? Those who proffer of an affirmative proposition, of course. It seems so straightforward. But is it? Maybe not. In fact, the burden is abundant, so there's plenty to go around. We need not be stingy with it. When atheists insists that theists justify their belief in God, they are implicitly asserting the affirmative propositions that theists (like everyone else) ought to hold only justified beliefs and that since belief in God is unjustified, theists ought to abandon their belief. Those are affirmative assertions. Why should one hold only justified beliefs, and why is belief in God unjustified? I can't see why atheists have no burden of proof here. If theists state their evidence (reason) for believing, the atheists may well say that the purported evidence is unconvincing. But why don't atheists bear a burden of proof here? They've put forth an affirmative position. One tricky thing about the burden of proof is that many negative statements,