Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, published in 1915, provided a new understanding of gravity and made successful predictions about various astronomical phenomena, including the precession of the perihelion of Mercury's orbit. While it is true that Einstein's theory was inspired by observations, it is not accurate to claim that he cited those observations as proof of his theory.
When Einstein developed his theory, there were known discrepancies between the observed precession of Mercury's perihelion and the predictions of Newtonian gravity. These deviations puzzled scientists at the time. Einstein's theory provided a conceptual framework that explained these discrepancies, offering a new understanding of gravity as the curvature of spacetime.
Einstein did not use the observations of Mercury's perihelion as proof of his theory. Instead, he derived his equations based on his theoretical framework and then compared them to observations, including the perihelion precession. The successful agreement between his predictions and the observations provided strong evidence in favor of his theory. In scientific practice, this kind of consistency between theory and observation is an essential component for validating a scientific theory.
It is important to note that scientific theories are not proven in an absolute sense. Instead, they are continuously tested and refined based on further observations and experiments. Einstein's General Theory of Relativity has undergone extensive testing over the years, and it has successfully withstood numerous experimental and observational challenges. The theory's ability to accurately predict phenomena, including the perihelion precession of Mercury and other gravitational effects, has solidified its status as a well-accepted and validated theory within the scientific community.
In summary, Einstein's General Theory of Relativity was not disingenuous in citing observations, including the perihelion of Mercury, as proof of the theory. Instead, the theory's predictions were compared to observations, and their agreement provided evidence in support of the theory.