"What Do You Believe Is True Even Though You Cannot Prove It?"

According to its website (www.edge.org), the purpose of the Edge Foundation is "to promote inquiry into and discussion of intellectual, philosophical, artistic, and literary issues, as well as to work for the intellectual and social achievement of society." (Obviously, it is not to be confused with "The Edge," the diversion on page 1 of The Oregonian's Living Section.) Each year for the past 10 years, Edge has posed "The Edge Annual Question" and published online the responses of acclaimed thinkers and scientists. The question for 2005 is a classic TOK question:

"WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE IT?"
Great minds can sometimes guess the truth before they have either the evidence or arguments for it (Diderot called it having the "esprit de divination"). What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?

[See http://www.edge.org/q2005/q05_print.html for comments from the editor-publisher of Edge.org about the question and the published responses.]

Questions & issues to consider:

A) Keeping in mind our readings and discussions from the first part of the school year, what do you make of this question? Analyze it in terms of the concepts of knowledge, justification, truth, and belief. Is the Edge question a valid question?

B) As you think about it and analyze it, what thoughts and ideas does it spark about the relationships between those concepts (i.e. knowledge, justification, truth, and belief), as well as the concept of proof?

C) What does it mean to "prove" something? What is "proof," as it seems to be used here? What constitutes proof (and not just in a strictly mathematical sense)? How is the concept of proof related to the concepts of knowledge, justification, truth, and belief?

D) What does the question seem to imply about the nature of belief? the nature of truth? Why isn't the word "knowledge" used in the question?

[Please note that you are NOT being asked to answer Edge's question. Appropriate comments should focus on analyzing and commenting on the nature of the question and on the concepts that comprise it.]