Is there any word for something which cannot be disproven. E.g. I want to say: "Vedas were written around 10000 BC". This has some proof but not certain, but it cannot be disproven. What should be the one word for this?
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5It can be disproven. There was no writing in the world at all 10,000 years ago. And nobody spoke Vedic Sanskrit then, either. – John Lawler Mar 08 '17 at 22:00
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2Was that extra 0 a typo? The Vedas are a collection of hymns and other religious texts composed in India between about 1500 and 1000 BCE Some scientists say that because string theory can never be "proved", they don't like to dignify it with the same term they apply to something as "solid" as the theory of evolution. Perhaps *belief system?* – FumbleFingers Mar 08 '17 at 22:31
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You may use a word like traditionally to mean it is generally accepted without scientific proof: By tradition, King David wrote the book of Psalms. – Yosef Baskin Mar 08 '17 at 22:34
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6To extend what John Lawler and FumbleFingers are saying: the idea that the Vedas were written 10,000 BC (i.e. ~12K before the present time) is in fact disproven. The general word for theories which cannot be disproven, e.g. that there's a teacup orbiting Saturn or that the Demiurge is really a plate of pasta is *unfalsifiable, but as Popper established in the 20th century, such prima facie* unfalsifiable claims must be discarded as worthless (epistemologically) precisely because they're unfalsifiable. – Dan Bron Mar 08 '17 at 22:39
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1One might describe such an idea as unfalsifiable. – Pierre Tack Mar 08 '17 at 22:39
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Perhaps related to *axiom*: something that is not proven but is taken to be true as the basis for further reasoning. – Jim Mar 09 '17 at 04:03
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I think this is the situation where people often say "arguably." There is inconclusive support for such idea. – aparente001 Mar 09 '17 at 05:06
2 Answers
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"word for something which cannot be disproven"
One might describe such an idea as being unfalsifiable, although for a non-scientific usage the layman's definition of theory that the OED gives could even be used.
If the idea has not yet been tested it could be a speculation, though you may want something that suggests a little more thought has gone into the idea if it has "has some proof but not certain".
Dictionary.com says a hypothesis is
"a proposition [...] accepted as highly probable in the light of established facts"
which might fit your example quite well.
Or: Conjecture.
aparente001
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Pierre Tack
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If a proposition cannot be proved, nor can it be disproved, then we can say it is untestable.
If you want to say that no one can prove or disprove it, and just want to replace "disproven" you could say:
"Vedas were written around 10000 BC". This has some proof but not certain, but it cannot be tested.
However, "some proof" is not a correct phrase here. Either there is proof or there isn't. I respectfully suggest "some evidence" is the phrase here.
Perhaps you could say
There is some evidence that Vedas were written around 10000 BC, but at present this is untestable,
or
There is some evidence that Vedas were written around 10000 BC, but this hypothesis cannot be tested.
Although, if you are more concerned with the fact that it can't be disproved,
There is some evidence that Vedas were written around 10000 BC, and nobody can prove otherwise.
davidlol
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Note that there is absolutely no evidence that the Vedas were written 10,000 BC, and plenty of evidence that they weren’t. There is some evidence that there is a typo in the question, and that it should read 1,000 BC (a dating which does have some evidence and is within the range generally accepted). – Janus Bahs Jacquet Mar 03 '19 at 15:00
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@JanusBahsJacquet This site is about how to express something in English, not about the truth or falsehood of what is expressed. – davidlol Mar 08 '19 at 15:02
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Hence why I noted it in a comment, not in an answer. There is nothing wrong with pointing out a factual inaccuracy in a question, regardless of whether or not it’s central to the question. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Mar 08 '19 at 15:04
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