Proof

Proof consists in reducing an idea back to the data provided by the senses. These data themselves, are the foundation of all subsequent knowledge, precede any process of inference. They are the primaries of cognition, the unchallengeable, the self-evident.^[1]

It's important to understand the origins of our ideas to assess their validity.

[...] Such Reduction is the only means man has of discovering the relationship between nonaxiomatic propositions and the facts of reality.^[2]

By linking our propositions back to sensory data, we keep our understanding grounded in reality. This cognitive practice helps us avoid the pitfalls of assumptions and unsupported abstractions. It ensures our knowledge is built on a solid foundation of Evidence, maintaining consistency and reliability.

As Aristotle observed, it is illogical to hold that absolutely everything has to be proved. Proof is indispensable when direct observation is not available. But proof is neither necessary nor possible in regard to the basic information on which all knowledge is based: perceptual data. As important as proof is, it is the secondary, not the primary, means of validating ideas. The primary means is direct awareness. Self-evidencies, directly perceived facts, are what make proof possible. To state the point in an extreme form: proof is what we resort to when something is not self-evident.^[3]