Prove

The impossible act of showing that an Idea is irrefutably true.

Certainty cannot be achieved in Knowledge growth. All knowledge is conjectural (Conjecture) and open to Criticism. The demand for proof is a symptom of Justificationism and Foundationalism. What we have instead is Corroboration — theories that have survived criticism so far.

Connections

• •Impossible — certainty is unattainable
• •The demand for proof reflects Justificationism and Foundationalism
• •Replaced by Corroboration in Critical Rationalism
• •All Knowledge is conjectural — subject to revision
• •Distinct from falsification — which eliminates theories rather than proving them
• •Mathematical proof works within axiomatic systems but doesn't prove the axioms themselves
• •The impossibility of proof is not Pessimism — it enables Progress through fallibilism