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”
Category Archives: Philosophical Excursus
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”
