Argument from ignorance

Argument from ignorance (from Latin: argumentum ad ignorantiam), also known as appeal to ignorance (in which ignorance represents "a lack of contrary evidence"), is a fallacy in informal logic. It asserts that a proposition is true because it has not yet been proven false or a proposition is false because it has not yet been proven true. If some proposition has not yet been proved true, we are not entitled on that ground alone to conclude that it is false and vice versa.^[1]^[2] In debates, appealing to ignorance is sometimes an attempt to shift the burden of proof. The term was likely coined by philosopher John Locke in the late 17th century.^[3]^[4]

^ Copi, Irving M (2016). Introduction to logic (in 639-2) (14th ed.). Routledge Publication. p. 146. ISBN 9780205820375.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
^ Hurley, Patrick J (2012). A Concise Introduction to Logic (11th ed.). Boston USA: Cengage Learning. p. 140. ISBN 9780840034175.
^ Hansen, Hans V.; Pinto, Robert C., eds. (1995). Fallacies: Classical and Contemporary Readings. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 978-0271014166. OCLC 30624864.
^ Locke, John (1690). "Book IV, Chapter XVII: Of Reason". An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Retrieved 12 March 2015.

[1] Copi, Irving M (2016). Introduction to logic (in 639-2) (14th ed.). Routledge Publication. p. 146. ISBN 9780205820375.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

[2] Hurley, Patrick J (2012). A Concise Introduction to Logic (11th ed.). Boston USA: Cengage Learning. p. 140. ISBN 9780840034175.

[3] Hansen, Hans V.; Pinto, Robert C., eds. (1995). Fallacies: Classical and Contemporary Readings. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 978-0271014166. OCLC 30624864.

[4] Locke, John (1690). "Book IV, Chapter XVII: Of Reason". An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Retrieved 12 March 2015.

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