Are there Questions with no Answers?

[Scrotum]

There this guy on TV claiming that there are questions you can not answer. It is some sort of evangelical program. I think the guys name is
Prem Rawat, but this is of no interest to the topic.

Question:

Are there Questions with no Answers?

Remember, there may be subjective opinions regarding the answer, but it´s still an answer. I can myself not find any question without an answer, as a question demands it (contradiction). But i have no doubt Harvey, Mculloch, Juliod, Grumpy can supply something for this clearly, philosophical debate.

[Curious]

There this guy on TV claiming that there are questions you can not answer. It is some sort of evangelical program. I think the guys name is
Prem Rawat, but this is of no interest to the topic.

Question:

Are there Questions with no Answers?

Remember, there may be subjective opinions regarding the answer, but it´s still an answer. I can myself not find any question without an answer, as a question demands it (contradiction). But i have no doubt Harvey, Mculloch, Juliod, Grumpy can supply something for this clearly, philosophical debate.

There is an answer to every problem even if the answer is "indeterminate". The answer depends on an acceptable solution. If you believe that a 1 megatonne bomb in the middle of the problem is an acceptable solution then that is an acceptable answer. There are only really objective answers but most times subjective asnswers are accepted most readily.

[Cathar1950]

Don't worry about it Lainey I would just say; "I don't even have a wife beater shirt some times known as a tank top shirt. Like everything I wear they make me look fat.
If any one would like one they can be found here:

www.wife-beaters.com/shirts.html

[McCulloch]

It depends on how do you define question and answer. To me a question is a statement which asks for a specific type of response. Not all statements are questions, even though we can respond to various statements. Not all responses are answers, as anyone who has listened to a political debate can attest. One could catagorize questions into types depending on the type of responses that are required:

• Boolean, Yes|No, True|False
• Integer = how many
• Real Number - How much
• DateTime - when
• Place - where
• etc.

Question types can be combined explicitly, "Frodo, where and when did you get that ring?" or implicitly "When do you want to see the vacuum cleaner demonstration?" (which is an implicit combination of "Do you want to see the vacuum cleaner demonstraton?" and "When?" )
If you define answer as being a response to a question of the type required by the question, then it is not difficult to construct a question with no valid answers. A correct response, is to not answer the question but to challenge the validity of such questions.

[Joe]

All questions can be answered, however in many cases the only appropriate answer might be "I don't know." One might also recognize that many answers we all accept today as being correct might change as we discover and understand things in more detail.

[melikio]

All questions can be answered, however in many cases the only appropriate answer might be "I don't know." One might also recognize that many answers we all accept today as being correct might change as we discover and understand things in more detail.

This is as close to a practical view on this subject, as I have seen so far.

ALL questions can be addressed indeed, but not all (types of) "answers" which are submitted may be sufficient or necessarily satisfactory for all people who might consider them.

-Mel-

[McCulloch]

All questions can be answered, however in many cases the only appropriate answer might be "I don't know." One might also recognize that many answers we all accept today as being correct might change as we discover and understand things in more detail.

To my way of thinking, "I don't know" is a response to a question but not an answer.

[melikio]

To my way of thinking, "I don't know" is a response to a question but not an answer.

Yeah, I know what you mean.

But for me, it is an acceptable and even reasonable response, especially when it is understood to be truthful.

"I don't know.", is the best many people can do, and when they are open, honest and presented with expansive queries; at least one knows where they are coming from. I think the next best answer a person could give is:

"Here's what I know/understand to be true."

Too often, I have seen people faking wisdom or knowledge, and it typically leads to little that is beneficial (IMV).

-Mel-

[McCulloch]

To my way of thinking, "I don't know" is a response to a question but not an answer.

Yeah, I know what you mean.
But for me, it is an acceptable and even reasonable response, especially when it is understood to be truthful.
"I don't know.", is the best many people can do, and when they are open, honest and presented with expansive queries; at least one knows where they are coming from. I think the next best answer a person could give is:
"Here's what I know/understand to be true."
Too often, I have seen people faking wisdom or knowledge, and it typically leads to little that is beneficial (IMV).

Absolutely.
Sometimes the best response to a question is not an answer.
To get back to the question for debate, "Are there questions with no answers?", I could respond with an answer, "Yes" and provide an example. But it might be better to respond with a question, "Why do you ask?"

[melikio]

Indeed, in response to "Are there Questions with no Answers", I would think "yes" (as far as my perceptions of reality are concerned); but I would surely be more interested in why the question was asked.

To me, such a question goes hand-in-hand with the reality that none of us knows everything; so, questions (all types) are something we will all possess.

People and their "questions", answers or responses to them, will likely always be things that are imperfect.

-Mel-