What is Russell's teapot?
Extracts from Russell's teapotRussell's teapot is an analogy, formulated by the philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872–1970), to illustrate that the philosophic burden of proof lies upon a person making unfalsifiable claims, rather than shifting the burden of disproof to others.
Russell specifically applied his analogy in the context of religion.[1]He wrote that if he were to assert, without offering proof, that a teapot, too small to be seen by telescopes, orbits the Sun somewhere in space between the Earth and Mars, he could not expect anyone to believe him solely because his assertion could not be proven wrong.
Russell's teapot is still invoked in discussions concerning the existence of God, and has had influence in various fields and media.
The analogy illustrates the point that the burden of proof for the existence of God lies with the people making the proposition and not with anybody being required to disprove the assertion - it is often impossible to disprove a negative which doesn't prove the positive.
