Vaughan writes: 1. Is mathematical proof so different from say legal proof that the two
notions should be listed on a disambiguation page as being unrelated meanings of the same word, or should they be treated as essentially the same notion modulo provenance of evidence and strictness of sufficiency, both falling under the definition "sufficient evidence of the truth of a proposition."
Geoffrey Lloyd's book "Adversaries and Authorities: Investigations into Ancient Greek and Chinese Science" has a discussion of how the Greek legal system influenced Greek concepts of rationality. While I haven't read it in a long while, I think it makes a good case that the concepts of "proof" in Western law, medicine, science, and mathematics are deeply intertwined. It's very useful to compare Greece with China on these issues. You could get a taste of it here: http://books.google.com/books?id=3820gVEQu1AC&printsec=frontcover&dq=adversaries+and+authorities&source=bl&ots=Z1qCx04ANb&sig=MROclDNl8-wjDKFi77o4z8Cs1_s&hl=en&ei=pz03TJLUHobEsAPglo1S&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=proof&f=false but the whole book is fascinating. It would also make a good citation - and it contains many further references. Best, jb [For admin and other information see: http://www.mta.ca/~cat-dist/ ]