Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30Revised: 2026 – 09 – 06 In Aphorism I:12 of the Novum Organum (1620), Bacon argues that the logic inherited from the scholastic tradition serves less to discover truth than to preserve and stabilize errors arising from widely accepted but defective notions. He therefore contrasts the prevailingContinue reading “Excursus 008 – On the Scientific and Philosophical Senses of “Truth””
Author Archives: Hossein Jorjani
Excursus 007 – On the Term “Notion” (Notio) in Bacon and Aristotle
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 Bacon’s use of notio (“notion”) retained the Aristotelian conception of a form in the soul or intellect (μορφή ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ), yet fundamentally transformed its epistemological function. In Aristotelian psychology and logic, a notion denoted the intellect’s grasp of the universal—an abstraction derived from sense perceptionContinue reading “Excursus 007 – On the Term “Notion” (Notio) in Bacon and Aristotle”
Excursus 006 – On Hypothetico-Deductive Models
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 Bacon’s methodological critique in the the Novum Organum may be fruitfully assessed in relation to the various forms of the hypothetico-deductive (H–D) model that developed after his time. The relationship was not one of direct alignment but of partial resonance and principled divergence. First, classical H–DContinue reading “Excursus 006 – On Hypothetico-Deductive Models”
Excursus 005 – On Hypothetico-Deductive Model
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 The term deductive in the modern hypothetico-deductive model preserves the formal structure of Aristotelian deduction while fundamentally transforming its epistemological function. In Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics, apodeixis signified demonstrative reasoning from first principles—propositions regarded as certain, self-evident, and indemonstrable. Deduction served to preserve that certainty: derived conclusionsContinue reading “Excursus 005 – On Hypothetico-Deductive Model”
Excursus 004 – On Bacon’s Use of the Term Dialectic
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 In the Novum Organum (1620), Bacon employs the terms “dialectic” and “dialectical” in a specifically syllogistic sense: a scholastic structure of reasoning that proceeds syllogistically from received axioms. The term therefore designates a formal apparatus of argumentation—major premise, minor premise, and conclusion—rather than dialogical exchange orContinue reading “Excursus 004 – On Bacon’s Use of the Term Dialectic”
Excursus 003 – Three Historical Roles of Dialectic
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 Discussions of the history of dialectic often distinguish between different philosophers but less frequently between the fundamentally different roles that dialectic has played throughout intellectual history. A useful distinction may be drawn between three broad conceptions. The earliest conception, associated primarily with Socrates and much ofContinue reading “Excursus 003 – Three Historical Roles of Dialectic”
Excursus 002 – On Axiom and First Principles in Aristotle, Euclid, and Bacon
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 The history of the term axioma illustrates an important transformation in the foundations of knowledge, culminating in Francis Bacon’s redefinition of axioms as products of induction rather than self-evident truths. The Greek term ἀξίωμα (axiōma) was employed by both Aristotle and Euclid, yet with markedly differentContinue reading “Excursus 002 – On Axiom and First Principles in Aristotle, Euclid, and Bacon”
Excursus 001 – On the Organon and the Novum Organum
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 Francis Bacon’s Instauratio magna (1620) is often regarded as the manifesto of the early modern scientific revolution. Less frequently noticed is that its six-part structure was deliberately modeled on Aristotle’s Organon. Bacon’s Instauratio magna (“Great Renewal”) was conceived in deliberate correspondence with Aristotle’s Organon (“Instrument”), theContinue reading “Excursus 001 – On the Organon and the Novum Organum”
OldPhilosophy, New Statistics
While teaching a PhD course in quantitative genetics, I gradually developed a one-hour module on philosophy of science. Among the topics discussed were Plato’s Allegory of the Cave — in particular, the opening exchange between Socrates and Glaucon — and a simple sketch illustrating the famous cave. Over the years, I found myself returning toContinue reading “OldPhilosophy, New Statistics”
مصیبت امضاهای جمعی
(با پوزش از شوخیهای این مطلب!) باز هم، دوباره، موج تازهای از صدور نامهها (اطلاعیهها، اعلامیهها، بیانیهها و …) با امضاهای جمعی در جریان است. همین الان، در هر سایت، چند فقره از این امضاهای جمعی دیده میشود. من هر بار که یکی از نامههای با امضاهای جمعی را میبینم به یاد ستون آگهی ترحیمContinue reading “مصیبت امضاهای جمعی”
Hossein Jorjani 