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DO YOU HAVE PROOF...THAT 1+1=2...OR JUST FAITH?

Based on the web sites below, I doubt that many have proof. Is this another example of how all knowledge begins with faith? Is it true that scientists must have faith that the universe is inherently orderly, even though there is no law or theorem that says it must be? Otherwise why waste their time?

...As a lover of Christ, science and mathematics I am quite used to faith AND reason.

http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/51551.htm...

http://scienceblogs.com/goodmath/2006/06/extreme_m...

Update:

Come on guys. The mathematicians are not just holding up two fingers. Can we get some real intellectual thought on this? ....the kind we usually have in Philosophy!

Update 2:

Naguru, nice touch concerning hearts.

Update 3:

Houston, I am going more basic than you are. I am simply stating that all knowledge, whether it be spiritual or mathematical is fundamentally based on faith. No one can prove or disprove God or a religious doctrine for you; only your own experiments, you own experential observations and reason can do that. In mathematics and science, there will always be truths that can not be proven from the axioms (Godel).

Update 4:

Houston, you revised your answer. The sites I gave as examples did not even mention anything about faith.

14 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    We live in a material world fenced in by dimensions that can be "proved" by scientific models and logic. Thus, to understand how Increase occurs we have constructed a model to prove how 1+1=2. However, for those of us with faith we understand that there is a part of our existence that cannot be seen, for if faith could be tangible then it would not be faith. It really comes back to the question of who has the broader perspective, the one who refuses to consider there is more than that which can be observed and/or measured, or the person who believes there is much more beyond the realm of what we might call the physical reality?

  • 5 years ago

    2

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Knowledge doesn't begin with faith. Faith follows reason, and only then leads to knowledge.

    Time, space and number and energy/matter are all fairly fundamental things. They are the best interpretations we have of the physical world. There is constant proof of what we call 'number', it is a basic part of our existence. The same goes with all the rest. First we establish what they are and their properties through logic, then we name them. Then we have faith that they are correct, but keep an open mind to anything that could prove otherwise.

    If there was no such thing as light, and no-one had eyes, then no-one would have faith that it existed. They wouldn't even be able to use their reason to prove or disprove it, because the whole concept would be inconceivable to them.

  • John
    Lv 5
    1 decade ago

    I think 1+1=2 by definition.

    Addition is a convention we invented and it works that way because that's how we decided to make it work.

    The structure of the universe doesn't contain or imply arithmetic. The universe just is, and we have invented tools such as arithmetic to help us think about it. Any physical interpretations we try to impose on mathematical structures are completely artificial.

    So we don't need to prove that 1+1=2 for the same reason we don't need to prove that the letter A is the first in the alphabet. It's true because we made it so.

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  • It's semantics, and the websites you quoted know it. If they fool you with it, I'd like to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.

    There are multiple definitions of faith. A significant attribute of which defintion is applied to faith is the origin of that faith. The websites muddle that point, and attempt to use the semantic similarity to convince you of their premise.

    The origin of faith that 1 + 1 = 2 is based on faith in scientific method, including observation, deduction, and experiment. It does not state that 1 + 1 = 2 is an absolute truth, it simply presents that precept as the best model to use so far to explain truth. It may turn out to be untrue someday. But if it is, it will be shown to be untrue with scientific method.

    The origin of religious faith is, by definition, without provable foundation (otherwise, it would be science!) As such, religious faith is semantically different. Religious faith dictates that one beleive a precept to be true without challenge or condition of change. So those who have faith that a myth or superstition is true are not sharing the same definition of the word as someone who has faith that a scientific precept is the best current explanation of the truth.

  • 1 decade ago

    1 + 1 = 3 or more

    1 guy + 1 girl = 2 adults + 1 baby or more babies

    Not faith just common sense.

    There are lots of proof that 1 + 1 = 2

    But it takes common sense to make 1 + 1 = 3 or more.

    Source(s): God is just an imaginary being in the delusional mind
  • Naguru
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago

    One plus one makes two, of course, in mathematics and material life.

    But if one heart meets another heart, do you know it becomes united and thus only one heart will remain. The other heart gets merged or integrated. So the answer varies depending on the situations.

    Source(s): own
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I got proof; My second grade teacher proved it using apples. The next day she did it again using oranges. The next day it was lemons, then peaches, and so on. We soon had a tree full of proof. And she was a nun teaching at Catholic school, which makes the proof extra strong.

    Source(s): dd
  • 1 decade ago

    Well, i guess you could say that its not really faith. We just decided to call those 1+1 fingers we hold up on our hand 2.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    No proof whatsoever! I+1person can result in 3 or more.

    The same with -ve numbers.have NEVER believed in them.The 2negatives makes one positive is mince.have you ever seen 2non-things make anything,except minus 2?No physical proof at all.

    This numbers-lark is all a big conspiracy to make us thinkers toe the line.Twice.

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