Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 The history of science has been marked by a long-term movement toward increasing quantification. Astronomy, physics, chemistry, genetics, epidemiology, and many other disciplines have progressively incorporated measurement, statistics, mathematical modelling, and computation into their methods. This historical development is sometimes interpreted as evidence that science isContinue reading “Excursus 079 – On Quantification in Science”
Author Archives: Hossein Jorjani
Excursus 078 – On What Makes a Discipline Scientific?
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 The value of an intellectual discipline should not be confused with its scientific status. Philosophy, history, literature, art, and political thought have produced some of humanity’s most profound achievements without thereby becoming sciences. The question is therefore not whether every discipline ought to become scientific, butContinue reading “Excursus 078 – On What Makes a Discipline Scientific?”
Excursus 077 – On the Epistemological Consequences of Pedagogical Simplification
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 Introductory scientific education necessarily relies on simplified examples. Such examples are indispensable for teaching fundamental concepts before introducing the complexity of real scientific phenomena. Yet prolonged reliance on pedagogical simplifications may have unintended epistemological consequences. Students may gradually come to regard the simplified model not merelyContinue reading “Excursus 077 – On the Epistemological Consequences of Pedagogical Simplification”
Excursus 076 – On the Historical Lag Between Science and Its Critics
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 Intellectual criticism does not always evolve at the same pace as the ideas it seeks to criticize. As scientific theories and methods develop, philosophical critiques may continue to address earlier conceptions that have already been substantially transformed or abandoned. The result is a historical lag betweenContinue reading “Excursus 076 – On the Historical Lag Between Science and Its Critics”
Excursus 075 – On the Historical Emergence of Capitalism
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 The existence of capital should not be confused with the existence of capitalism. Capital, merchants, markets, banking, and commercial exchange have existed in many societies throughout history. Their presence alone does not justify describing those societies as capitalist. The concept of capitalism is most appropriately appliedContinue reading “Excursus 075 – On the Historical Emergence of Capitalism”
Excursus 074 – On the Uneven Distribution of Human Knowledge
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 Knowledge is neither complete nor uniformly incomplete. Human understanding is distributed unevenly across different domains of reality. Some phenomena are understood with considerable precision and reliability, whereas others remain only partially understood or are presently beyond our investigative reach. This unevenness reflects the fact that theContinue reading “Excursus 074 – On the Uneven Distribution of Human Knowledge”
Excursus 073 – On Four Sources of Epistemic Incompleteness
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 Human knowledge is often described as provisional or incomplete. This incompleteness, however, does not arise from a single cause. At least four independent mechanisms may prevent knowledge from attaining complete correspondence with reality. Two of these arise from the nature of reality itself. First, reality mayContinue reading “Excursus 073 – On Four Sources of Epistemic Incompleteness”
Excursus 072 – On Degrees of Objectivity
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 The recognition that complete objectivity may be unattainable should not lead to the conclusion that all disciplines possess the same degree of objectivity. The extent to which the observer influences the observed varies considerably across domains of inquiry. In many areas of the natural sciences, theContinue reading “Excursus 072 – On Degrees of Objectivity”
Excursus 071 – On Intellectual Traditions as Evolving Populations
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 Historical influence should not be confused with direct textual transmission. The doctrines associated with major thinkers seldom reach later generations solely through the original texts. More often they are transmitted through successive generations of interpretation, teaching, commentary, translation, adaptation, and institutional practice. As a result, theContinue reading “Excursus 071 – On Intellectual Traditions as Evolving Populations”
Excursus 070 – On the Distinction Between Epistemological and Ontological Claims
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 Discussions of scientific inquiry often emphasize that knowledge is acquired, interpreted, and communicated by human beings. This is an epistemological claim: all knowledge is produced within particular historical, linguistic, and social contexts. It concerns how human beings come to know the world. Such claims should notContinue reading “Excursus 070 – On the Distinction Between Epistemological and Ontological Claims”
Hossein Jorjani 