Burden of Proof (In Detail)

I don’t mean to beat the proverbial dead horse, but I want to explain in more detail what the Burden of Proof (BoP) is, and why it matters. Every opinion or belief has a reason, even if you’re not aware of it. You may be right, but if you can’t prove it, its not justified. The BoP is a way of getting people to believe you. Now, if you don’t care if someone believes you, then fine. You can skip reading this. But, if you do want people to believe you, then this is the best way to do it.

This has nothing to do with religion. This is simple Logic 101. Well, Logic 102, since 101 would be the Logical Absolutes. Every day, you make decisions. Do you bring a sweater? Do you walk to work? Do you get some coffee? What do you put IN the coffee? How do we answer these questions? Cause and effect and personal preference. It’s cold. I know that a sweater warms me, so I’ll bring one. I want to lose weight, so I’ll walk. These are the reasons, for me. Now how can I convey that to someone else?

The Argument from Personal Experience is a logical fallacy because it can’t be verified or disproven. We each perceive reality based on our own experiences. We use this information to develop a model of the universe. Since each of us have had different experiences, we perceive reality differently. Keep in mind, that reality doesn’t change, just our perceptions of it. How do we prove that our experiences conform to a universal model that everyone can accept?

Let’s say I claim that a particular apple is red. I could say “just trust me on this”, or I could demonstrate it. I could point to another object that is the same color. I could say that since everyone agrees that this other object is red, and the apple is that same color, then the apple must be red also. If they believe me, I have met my Burden of Proof.

Just because someone doesn’t believe you, doesn’t mean they think you’re wrong. This is very important to realize. It simply means you haven’t convinced them. I’m not convinced that Jesus lived. I’m not saying he didn’t live. Just that I’m not convinced. And if evidence is provided that establishes his existence, then I’ll accept it.

My last General Manager was into this New Age kind of thing. She read this book and decided that we should say and act like we were “the best boutique hotel in Seattle”. Like a daily affirmation or something. She then said that it’s up to others to prove us wrong. I now know that this is illogical. It’s not up to others to prove us wrong. It’s up to us to prove we’re right.

Here’s why it matters. We live in a universe with other people. We are a communicative species. We are capable of conveying thoughts and emotions and ideas to other people. Sometimes we make incorrect assessments. Even if it’s not a lie, we are sometimes wrong. So we developed a method of checking things. This is where evidence and proof enter the picture. We use the evidence or proof to establish that a claim is accurate or not. We want to make sure that what we say, or what we hear, matches our own model of the universe. If it doesn’t, then one of us is wrong. One of us must change our views.

Then again, none of this matters if you don’t want people to believe you. If you’re comfortable with your ideas or opinions, and it doesn’t matter to you if they are true, then that’s your choice. But if we don’t challenge ourselves to prove that what we say or think is correct, we become intellectually lazy. I’ll quote Matt Dillahunty, “I want to believe as many true things and as few false things.” We need to make sure that we have good reasons and justification for our opinions and beliefs. Again, I’m not limiting it to religion. I’m talking in general. The Burden of Proof is a way to ensure this.