Vérifiables

Vérifiables is a term used in several contexts, most notably in philosophy and epistemology, to describe a statement, claim, or piece of evidence that can be subjected to a process of verification. This means that there are methods or criteria available, in principle or in practice, to confirm or deny its truth. The concept is central to empiricism and scientific methodology, where observations and experiments serve as the means of verification.

In philosophy of science, the verifiability principle was a significant tenet of logical positivism. It suggested that a statement is meaningful only if it can be empirically verified, either directly or indirectly. This principle aimed to distinguish scientific statements from metaphysical or nonsensical ones. However, the strict verifiability principle faced significant challenges, particularly concerning universal statements (e.g., "all swans are white") which cannot be fully verified by a finite number of observations.

The concept of verifiability also appears in discussions about knowledge. For something to count as knowledge, it often needs to be justifiable or supported by evidence that could, in theory, be checked. This doesn't necessarily mean that the verification must be easy or immediately possible, but rather that a pathway to confirmation or refutation exists. The degree of verifiability can vary, influencing the certainty with which a claim is held.

In practical terms, anything that can be checked against objective reality or a set of agreed-upon facts is considered verifiable. This can range from simple statements like "the sky is blue" to complex scientific theories that are continuously tested and refined through data and experimentation. The absence of verifiability can lead to skepticism or the classification of a statement as a matter of belief or opinion rather than factual assertion.