Burden

load heavily.

"she walked forward burdened with a wooden box"

by Friggers June 12, 2023

Arbitrary Burden of Proof

The meta-fallacy where one side is forced to prove every assertion, back every claim, and satisfy every demand for evidence, while the other side can simply move goalposts, demand new sources, dismiss evidence as insufficient, and never provide anything themselves. The arbitrary burden of proof is the debate equivalent of one person carrying a piano while the other skips ahead, occasionally turning around to complain that the piano-carrier isn't keeping up. It's how conspiracy theorists can demand that scientists prove negatives (prove that vaccines don't cause autism, prove that the moon landing wasn't fake), while offering no proof for their own claims and dismissing any evidence against them as part of the conspiracy.

Example: "She was trapped under an arbitrary burden of proof. Every time she provided a source, he moved the sourcepost. Every time she met his standard, he raised it. After two hours, she'd provided twenty sources, and he'd provided zero. When she asked what he believed, he said 'I'm just asking questions.' The questions were infinite, the answers were never enough, and the burden was hers alone."

by Dumu The Void February 15, 2026

Burden of Proof Inflation

The tactic of inflating the burden of proof beyond reasonable standards, demanding impossible levels of evidence while offering none in return. Burden of proof inflation is what happens when one side demands "proof" that would satisfy a mathematician while offering "evidence" that wouldn't satisfy a toddler. It's the logic of "prove vaccines are safe" (impossible standard) while accepting "I read on Facebook that they're dangerous" (no standard at all). Burden of proof inflation is a favorite of bad-faith arguers, who can always demand more, always raise the bar, always find the evidence insufficient. The cure is recognizing that burden of proof is not infinite; reasonable standards exist, and they apply to both sides.

Burden of Proof Inflation Example: "She provided study after study showing vaccine safety. He dismissed each one—too small, too old, too biased, too something. Burden of proof inflation had raised the bar beyond any possible reach. When she asked what evidence he would accept, he said 'I'll know it when I see it.' He never saw it."

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 17, 2026

Shifting the Burden

The tactic of moving the burden of proof from the one making a claim to the one questioning it. Shifting the burden is what happens when someone says "prove me wrong" instead of supporting their own position. It's the logic of "you can't prove God doesn't exist, so he does," of "you can't prove vaccines are safe, so they're dangerous." Shifting the burden inverts the normal rules of argument, putting the challenger in the impossible position of proving a negative. The cure is recognizing that the burden of proof lies with the positive claim, not with its critics. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, not extraordinary skepticism.

Shifting the Burden Example: "He claimed the election was stolen. When asked for evidence, he shifted the burden: 'Prove it wasn't.' She couldn't prove a negative; that's not how proof works. But shifting the burden had worked: now she was on the defensive, trying to disprove his unsupported claim. The argument was upside down, and he liked it that way."

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 17, 2026