Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 Science and technology are closely related but distinct human enterprises. Their historical interaction has been so productive that they are often treated as though they were synonymous. Yet the primary aim of science is to understand the natural world, whereas the primary aim of technology isContinue reading “Excursus 081 – On Science and Technology”
Author Archives: Hossein Jorjani
Excursus 080 – On Probability and the Transformation of Modern Science
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 Science is often associated with certainty. Popular accounts frequently portray scientific knowledge as the discovery of universal laws that establish facts beyond reasonable doubt. Historically, however, the development of modern science has followed a different trajectory. Rather than moving toward absolute certainty, many scientific disciplines haveContinue reading “Excursus 080 – On Probability and the Transformation of Modern Science”
Excursus 079 – On Quantification in Science
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”
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”
