Timeline for Is there a word to describe a claim that cannot be disproved because the situation will never occur?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
9 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 27, 2014 at 19:44 | vote | accept | Mark R | ||
| Jul 17, 2014 at 15:55 | history | edited | Edwin Ashworth | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 69 characters in body
|
| Jul 17, 2014 at 15:17 | comment | added | Mark R | @CupawnTae - I think "unfalsifiable" is sounding like the best word for what I'm looking for. You're right that it's the conveniently undisprovable aspect of the statement that I am looking for a way to describe. | |
| Jul 17, 2014 at 13:09 | comment | added | CupawnTae | I don't think it's valid to directly replace "a question that can't definitely be answered" with "a claim that can't be definitely disproved" in that definition and use that as evidence. The latter is far more specific in a way that IMHO is a very important part of the original question. Also, the question is not about people liking to discuss the question, but about someone claiming something that conveniently cannot be disproven, an entirely different scenario. I think @JohnMeacham's "unfalsifiable" nails it. It would be good if the OP would chime in on this though. | |
| Jul 16, 2014 at 21:18 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | "I'll throw in this definition given at yourdictionary then: " 'academic' is [used to describe] a question that can't be definitely answered [claim that can't be definitely disproved] but that people like to think about and discuss anyway". | |
| Jul 16, 2014 at 21:05 | comment | added | CupawnTae | I think "academic" and "hypothetical" may apply to the situation, but do not cover the "conveniently undisprovable" aspect which I took to be the crux of the question. | |
| Jul 16, 2014 at 20:40 | comment | added | John Meacham | hypothetical questions can be quite productive and don't imply anything about the likelihood of being able to be answered. "If I lost my job, would I still be able to make my house payments?" entirely possible, answerable, and useful to ask. | |
| Jul 16, 2014 at 19:50 | comment | added | andi | I think hypothetical works, since the OP asked how to describe the statement, not the ensuing debate. | |
| Jul 16, 2014 at 19:14 | history | answered | Edwin Ashworth | CC BY-SA 3.0 |