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.

[Bugmaster]

Depends on what you mean by "answers". Have you stopped beating your wife ?

[Scrotum]

Depends on what you mean by "answers".

He did not say. I assume we use the dictionary definition of ´A statement that solves a problem or explains how to solve the problem´ or the obvious one ´The speech act of replying to a question´.

Have you stopped beating your wife ?

I would be pretty wife-less if i did it once.

[Bugmaster]

Have you stopped beating your wife ?

I would be pretty wife-less if i did it once.

Well, that was speech, and it replied to the question, but I still don't think it was a real answer :-)

[Scrotum]

Have you stopped beating your wife ?

I would be pretty wife-less if i did it once.

Well, that was speech, and it replied to the question, but I still don't think it was a real answer

It qualifies as a passive answer, does it not ?

[ENIGMA]

Is no the only possible answer to this question?

[Scrotum]

I am seriously wondering, the claim was made by a evangelic christian on TV, i was just wondering really is anyone is claiming this for real?

Or if i missed somehing of course.

[Cathar1950]

Maybe he meant there were questions with no known answers or knowable answers or even provable answers.
I guess he was right we don't know what he means therefore there is no answer to our question. We could ask him.

[McCulloch]

Is no the only possible answer to this question?

This is a good example of our problem with Scrot's original question.
If by answer, he means, a valid answer that addresses the issue raised in the question, then it is not difficult to multiply trick questions, such as Enigma's with no answer.
However, if you use a broader definition of answer, then even this question can be answered thus

• Due to the way that the answer to this question changes the meaning of the question itself, this question has no valid answer. If you say "yes" then your answer is false. If you say "no" then your answer is also false. We could answer the question "nyet" or "non" but that would be cheating. We could answer the question "not always" or "'No' is the only possible answer to this question if and only if the answer to the question is 'yes'. Or we could recursively answer the question with this paragraph:
  • Due to the way that the answer to this question changes the meaning of the question itself, this question has no valid answer. If you say "yes" then your answer is false. If you say "no" then your answer is also false. We could answer the question "nyet" or "non" but that would be cheating. We could answer the question "not always" or "'No' is the only possible answer to this question if and only if the answer to the question is 'yes'. Or we could recursively answer the question with this paragraph:
    • Due to the way that the answer to this question changes the meaning of the question itself, this question has no valid answer. If you say "yes" then your answer is false. If you say "no" then your answer is also false. We could answer the question "nyet" or "non" but that would be cheating. We could answer the question "not always" or "'No' is the only possible answer to this question if and only if the answer to the question is 'yes'. Or we could recursively answer the question with this paragraph:
      • Due to the way that the answer to this question changes the meaning of the question itself, this question has no valid answer. If you say "yes" then your answer is false. If you say "no" then your answer is also false. We could answer the question "nyet" or "non" but that would be cheating. We could answer the question "not always" or "'No' is the only possible answer to this question if and only if the answer to the question is 'yes'. Or we could recursively answer the question with this paragraph:
        • Due to the way that the answer to this question changes the meaning of the question itself, this question has no valid answer. If you say "yes" then your answer is false. If you say "no" then your answer is also false. We could answer the question "nyet" or "non" but that would be cheating. We could answer the question "not always" or "'No' is the only possible answer to this question if and only if the answer to the question is 'yes'. Or we could recursively answer the question with this paragraph:
          • Due to the way that the answer to this question changes the meaning of the question itself, this question has no valid answer. If you say "yes" then your answer is false. If you say "no" then your answer is also false. We could answer the question "nyet" or "non" but that would be cheating. We could answer the question "not always" or "'No' is the only possible answer to this question if and only if the answer to the question is 'yes'. Or we could recursively answer the question with this paragraph:
            • Due to the way that the answer to this question changes the meaning of the question itself, this question has no valid answer. [...]

[Lainey]

Why does it have to be a yes or a no answer?

What's wrong with, "What the hell are you talking about? I never beat my wife!"

I'm so confused...