Why doesn't science offer conclusive proof of phenomena?

Answer 1

Science cannot provide definitive proof of anything because nobody knows everything. You can always make another observation or take another measurement. That observation might possibly change our understanding of a phenomenon in some tiny way. It might even change it in such an important way that we have to re-think our understanding altogether. You can never be sure that nobody can think of a new explanation that accounts of all the observations of any given phenomenon up to now.

But this lack of definitive proof does not stop science from providing reliable explanations of how nature works. Aircraft fly, mobile phones work, and vaccines prevent you from getting ill. All of these technological wonders depend on science, and we can be confident that the science on which they are based describes the world accurately. The more evidence available to science, the more accurate that description becomes, and the more confident you can be that the plane will not suddenly become subject to a previously unknown law that causes it to plummet to Earth. Science is a lot better than myth at explaining how to build, for example, a functional jet engine.

Definitive proof is not, and has never been, the aim of science. Science is a careful mapping of nature, and just as a map is not the same thing as the land it maps, but always a simplification, science is never the same thing as the phenomena it describes, but always a simplification. As science progresses in any field, its predictions get closer and closer to observation. A scientific theory is a body of knowledge that makes accurate predictions and is utterly reliable for all practical purposes - like putting humans on the Moon.

Answer 2

Science does not offer conclusive proof of phenomena because scientific knowledge is always provisional and subject to change based on new evidence or perspectives. The nature of scientific inquiry involves constantly questioning and refining our understanding of the world, rather than seeking definitive answers. Additionally, some phenomena are complex and may not lend themselves to simple and conclusive explanations.