Yesterday, someone sent me an email trail concerning a discussion/argument about the existence of the virus, for my view. I responded by considering the following two statements (in bold). I believe visitors will find my response helpful, so I am also posting it here.
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@ “I still have not seen a single concise, well-sourced article which makes the case that viruses don’t exist”
In response to the above, it is highly unlikely, in fact, impossible to find an article that will answer the question because the question is incorrect. For example, how can one show the existence (or otherwise) of something that does not exist?
On the other hand, the fake existence of something can be disproved. I believe this is what you are, or should be, asking for.
So, for example, if someone says that a certain dirt sample containing yellow particles is a gold ore. It can be confirmed (proven) by isolating the yellow particles and testing those yellow particles against the gold reference standard. If it matches, then the claim of gold in the ore/dirt is valid and proven the existence of gold in the ore.
On the other hand, if the yellow particles in the ore do not match the gold reference standard, then gold does not exist. The yellow particles could be from any number of things. So, the existence of the gold particle in the ore has been disproven or rejected.
The critical point to note here is that the existence or non-existence of something can only be established with the help of comparing it with an existing reference standard. If the reference standard is unavailable, one can confidently say that the thing one is looking for does not exist. The virus claim falls in this category, i.e., there is no reference standard of the virus, or its RNA is available anywhere. Therefore, the virus does not exist.
People get confused with such a statement, as noted below,
“Surely we can observe these particle under an electron microscope performing their tasks so they don’t necessary need to be physically isolated in tiny test tubes to prove that they exist!”
This is incorrect. Pictures are exactly like seeing yellow particles in the dirt and assuming them as gold, as described above. Only by isolating and testing against the reference standard can one confirm or reject the existence of the gold in the dirt. The picture would help but cannot be considered evidence of the existence of something. Only the (physical) isolation of the item can confirm its existence. As no physical sample of the virus or its RNA is available, the virus does not exist.
Further details here
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