Many great thinkers have used the phrase “____ is dead” at some point in their life. I do not claim to be a great thinker, but I do want to take my turn using the almost cliché phrasing. Therefore, I insert proof into the template. Why is proof dead? Let me explain.

Before I can explain why I believe proof is dead, I must define proof. The Free Dictionary defines proof as “the evidence or argument that compels the mind to accept an assertion as true.” But what is truth? Truth is relative. What is true for me may not be true for anyone else. That means that proof cannot exist for relative truth. However, I do believe in Absolute Truth, but that is impossible to prove. Therefore, the only way proof could exist in a relevant sense would be in Absolute Truth, which normally entails the supernatural. The supernatural is impossible to prove because it is not observable with any of the five senses.

Even if we disregard the truth argument I presented above, proof still is a poor word choice in most situations. If I am trying to show something to be true (whatever that may mean), most people would say that I am trying to prove it, while, in fact, I am simply trying to present evidence. I understand that it is impossible to prove anything due to the relativity of truth and the overly-skeptical society that we live in. I also understand that it is very easy to find evidence for many hypotheses and theories. The problem is that when we start “proving” things, new knowledge will come that will change those “facts.” That is why I believe we should talk more about evidence. Evidence points towards truth in the relative sense. It can sway and change just as much as truth itself can. Proof cannot change. Proof is absolute.

When a man starts claiming that he has proven something because of one or two small pieces of evidence he found, he loses his credibility. The reason is because he has just shown the world that he believes his relative truth is absolute, that his evidence that may lead him to a relative belief is indeed proof that leads to an absolute, unchanging truth. There are many things wrong with this picture. The important thing to take away from this illustration is that using the word ‘proof’ isn’t worth it in most situations. Although I believe it does not exist, that is a relative truth. The reader may believe that proof exists in a certain way. But, even if it does, it is still dangerous to use the word, especially in the field of science. Science is always correcting and changing itself with new research. Something might seem clear as day now, but in twenty years, it will have a completely different understanding.