Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 08 – 22 Governments are expected to regulate enterprises, evaluate their claims, design economic policies, and respond when important sectors encounter difficulties. To perform these functions competently, public institutions require knowledge of how enterprises actually operate. Statistics, economic models, regulatory reports, audits, and consultation with private firms provide indispensableContinue reading “Excursus 137 — On the Epistemic Function of Public Enterprise”
Tag Archives: epistemology
Excursus 123 – On the Epistemic Uses of Imagination
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 27 Imagination has long served as an indispensable instrument for understanding reality. Yet it has not always been employed for the same intellectual purpose. Mythology, satire, and science fiction all construct worlds that differ from ordinary experience, but they do so in order to illuminate different aspectsContinue reading “Excursus 123 – On the Epistemic Uses of Imagination”
Excursus 117 – On Dialectic as Method and as Ontology
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 23 Dialectic has not always meant the same thing. In its classical Greek form, particularly in the Socratic and Platonic traditions, dialectic was primarily an epistemological method. Through questioning, comparison, and the examination of opposing viewpoints, it served to clarify concepts, expose hidden assumptions, and test theContinue reading “Excursus 117 – On Dialectic as Method and as Ontology”
Excursus 110 – On the Meaning of Contradiction
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 22 The term contradiction has acquired different meanings in different philosophical traditions. Unless these meanings are distinguished, discussions of dialectic and philosophical method can easily become confused. In formal logic, a contradiction is stronger than a mere opposition or distinction. Two propositions are contradictory when they cannotContinue reading “Excursus 110 – On the Meaning of Contradiction”
Excursus 109 – Reality, Knowledge, and Epistemic Mediation
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 08 Every newspaper reports yesterday’s events. Every photograph shows a moment that has already passed. Even looking across a room takes a small amount of time for light to travel from the object to our eyes. Scientific knowledge is built upon observations that are obtained, interpreted, andContinue reading “Excursus 109 – Reality, Knowledge, and Epistemic Mediation”
Excursus 105 – On the Epistemological Function of Examples in Plato’s Dialogues
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 05 Readers approaching Plato for the first time are often struck by the kinds of questions that dominate his dialogues. Contrary to modern expectations, Socrates rarely investigates material objects or natural phenomena. Instead, his discussions almost invariably concern concepts: justice, courage, temperance, piety, friendship, beauty, knowledge, virtue,Continue reading “Excursus 105 – On the Epistemological Function of Examples in Plato’s Dialogues”
Excursus 069 – On Observer Effects and Scale
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 One of the recurring themes in twentieth-century philosophy and sociology is the claim that the act of observation affects the object being observed. This idea appears in a variety of forms, ranging from discussions of quantum mechanics to debates in the social sciences. Yet these examplesContinue reading “Excursus 069 – On Observer Effects and Scale”
Excursus 101 – On Scientific Prestige and Philosophical Authority
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 20 Throughout the history of philosophy, scientific achievements have often enhanced the prestige of philosophical systems associated with them. The success of mathematics, physics, biology, or other sciences may lend an appearance of authority to philosophical arguments that invoke their concepts or terminology. Yet scientific prestige andContinue reading “Excursus 101 – On Scientific Prestige and Philosophical Authority”
Excursus 099 – On Kant as a Model of Philosophical Responsibility
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 20 Immanuel Kant’s enduring significance lies not only in the originality of his philosophy but also in the methodological attitude from which it emerged. Living during the period in which Newtonian mechanics represented the most successful scientific account of the physical world, Kant regarded this achievement notContinue reading “Excursus 099 – On Kant as a Model of Philosophical Responsibility”
Excursus 098 – On an Additional Criterion for Evaluating Philosophers
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 20 Philosophers are commonly evaluated according to such criteria as originality, logical consistency, conceptual clarity, influence, and historical significance. These are all important measures of philosophical achievement. Yet they do not exhaust the criteria by which philosophical work may be assessed. Philosophy has never developed independently ofContinue reading “Excursus 098 – On an Additional Criterion for Evaluating Philosophers”
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