Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 Doubt has often been misunderstood as either a temporary stage on the path to certainty or a permanent condition of skepticism. Both conceptions overlook a more fundamental epistemological function. The enduring value of doubt lies not in uncertainty itself but in its capacity to stimulate theContinue reading “Excursus 089 – On Doubt as a Method of Conceptual Revision”
Tag Archives: conceptual evolution
Excursus 082 – On the Age Problem
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 Scientific knowledge is historically cumulative. Theories are revised, methods are refined, instruments become more powerful, and standards of evidence evolve. Consequently, any philosophical account of science must distinguish between the historical development of a scientific discipline and its present methodological state. This gives rise to whatContinue reading “Excursus 082 – On the Age Problem”
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 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 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 068 – On the Original Meaning of “Dialectic”
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 14 The modern reader often associates the word dialectic with contradiction, conflict, and negation, largely under the influence of Hegel and the later Marxist tradition. Etymologically, however, the term points in a much broader direction. The Greek dialektikē (διαλεκτική) derives from the verb dialegesthai (διαλέγεσθαι), meaning “toContinue reading “Excursus 068 – On the Original Meaning of “Dialectic””
Excursus 065 – On the Ripley Principle: The Evolution of Ideas
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 18 Scientific and philosophical ideas rarely emerge in their final form. Their first appearance is often incomplete, imprecise, or even misleading. Concepts are proposed, criticized, revised, abandoned, reformulated, and sometimes rediscovered under new names. What later generations recognize as a successful theory is frequently the result ofContinue reading “Excursus 065 – On the Ripley Principle: The Evolution of Ideas”
Excursus 059 – On Change in the Space of Possibilities
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 18 Gurvitch dismisses Hegel’s dialectic as “a carefully disguised dance in place,” arguing that all movement ultimately returns to the Absolute and therefore produces no genuine novelty. The present observation accepts Gurvitch’s criticism of Hegel’s teleological conception of history. It questions only the generality of the metaphorContinue reading “Excursus 059 – On Change in the Space of Possibilities”
Excursus 057 – On Positivism
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 18 The term “positivism” is today employed more often by its critics than as a self-description by its proponents or alleged proponents. Consequently, discussions of positivism frequently proceed without an explicit definition of the position under criticism. In the present work, the term is therefore used inContinue reading “Excursus 057 – On Positivism”
Excursus 054 – On the Hermeneutics of “Dialectic”
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 18 The term dialectic has accumulated multiple and often incompatible meanings over the course of its history. Contemporary discussions frequently employ the term without specifying which dialectical tradition is intended. As a result, ideas drawn from thinkers such as Hegel, Marx, Engels, Lukács, Sartre, Adorno, Gurvitch, Bhaskar,Continue reading “Excursus 054 – On the Hermeneutics of “Dialectic””
Hossein Jorjani 