Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 09 – 13 Citation performs several legitimate functions in scholarly work. A researcher may use previous works to develop an idea through comparison and criticism, to compare an independently formed idea with existing views, to obtain evidence or premises, to adopt a method, to use a concept or definition,Continue reading “Excursus 139 — On Citation and the Merit of an Idea”
Tag Archives: evidence
Excursus 093 – On the Two Stages of Historical Inquiry
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 Historical inquiry is often presented as a branch of the humanities, whereas the natural sciences are regarded as fundamentally different modes of investigation. In practice, however, modern historical research increasingly proceeds through two complementary stages that draw upon both domains. The first stage seeks to establishContinue reading “Excursus 093 – On the Two Stages of Historical Inquiry”
Excursus 031 – On Extrapolation
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 In Aphorism I:70 of the Novum Organum (1620), Bacon warns that the evidential force of an experiment should remain “rooted in the experiment itself” unless its conclusions are transferred to other cases by a proper and orderly method. This caution anticipates what may be called extrapolationContinue reading “Excursus 031 – On Extrapolation”
Excursus 030 – On the Changing Landscape of Scientific Inquiry
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 In Aphorism I:61 of the Novum Organum (1620), Bacon argues that disagreements with earlier philosophers concern not the destination—truth itself—but the path by which it is reached. He illustrates this by observing that a lame man who follows the correct road will eventually outstrip a runnerContinue reading “Excursus 030 – On the Changing Landscape of Scientific Inquiry”
Excursus 025 – On Epistemological Distortion
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 The epistemological distortion identified by Bacon in Aphorism I:45 of the Novum Organum (1620)—the tendency of the human mind to impose order and correspondence where none existed—has numerous modern analogues. In theoretical physics, critics have argued that some highly mathematical theories risk allowing formal elegance andContinue reading “Excursus 025 – On Epistemological Distortion”
Hossein Jorjani 