Evolution and empiricism both have limits. Data and theories alone do not make science. For most people a heliocentric solar system is known only through faith and inference, and not through empirical proofs. In fact, it cannot be empirically proven that the earth revolves around the sun simply because all descriptions of motion are subject the the point from which motion is observed.
Piling up facts is not science--science is facts-and-theories. Facts alone have limited use and lack meaning: a valid theory organizes them into far greater usefulness.
A powerful theory not only embraces old facts and new but also discloses unsuspected facts [Heinlein 1980:480-481].