Aspiring_Vulcan comments on No Logical Positivist I - Less Wrong
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Comments (52)
Is the following assertion meaningless -- "There exists a invisible dragon in my garage, which can't be seen, felt, or sensed by any methods known to man today, or in the future".
If it's a conscious dragon, then it's definitely meaningful. The dragon will have proof of its own existence, which implies that there is an experiment capable of proving its existence.
No. It is, however, suspicious - what led you to hold such a conveniently untestable belief? What do you think you know, and how do you think you know it?
Can it be sensed by beings other than humans with which humans might communicate? (Or does that already count as a method, however mediated by these alien beings, of sensing by humans?)
If somebody made this assertion, then I would, as MugaSofer, probably follow up with how this person came to that belief. Somewhere along the way there is likely to be some sensation by that human, whether a past sighting that can't be repeated, communication with (what the believer takes to be) alien beings (space aliens, fairies, angels, etc), or even just a vague feeling that a dragon is there. We might get meaning out of it (and then it is very likely, unless interpreted in a figurative sense, to be very likely false).