Positive vs Negative Claims:

Positive vs Negative Claims:

There seems to be a lot of confusion lately of what constitutes a positive and negative claim...as there does seem to be some vagueness as to what that actually means. A negative claim is often the phrase used when someone expresses that something does not exist, as opposed to claiming that it does exist.

To me if I say X does not exist, that is making a positive claim of the negative existence of something which people call a negative claim, but this leads to confusion. As one is making that claim that the state of affairs of the universe is such that X does not exist in the universe, or the universe is devoid of X.

Personally, I don't care if someone calls this a negative claim or a positive claim...as both require just as much a burden of justification...and I think the distinction is rather meaningless to me.

Again to me, if someone saying "God does not exit", viewed by me, is a positive assertion of a negative claim (claim of nonexistence). Since in a debate both parties are arguing their own positions, both are arguing from a position that their position is correct and both need to give positive evidence for their position (Evidence for their own position), not just negative evidence (evidence against the opponents position)...which to me means both are in essence making a positive claim. Calling something like "God does not exist!" a "negative claim" doesn't mean it has any less of a burden of justification.

Thoughts?

(May have a hangout on this soon as well as that constitutes a claim as +Nesslig 20 and +TheRumpus Account have been going back and forth on this for a while and ofc Rumpus thinks everyone in the world is an idiot, but him. His position is that "I believe God does not exist" ("declaration of belief") is not a claim and is different from saying "God does not exist!" (assertion/claim). Nesslig and I disagree with Rumpus here, as I view it someone saying "I believe God does not exist", while declaring their belief, is making a weak statement that is saying ontologically that the universe is devoid of Gods and I take that as a claim. What are you thoughts?)