Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 09 – 12 “One Ring to rule them all.” The danger described by this familiar image is not confined to political power. Something similar can happen in the organization of knowledge. An explanatory concept, method, or framework may gradually acquire such broad ambitions that it seeks to become theContinue reading “Excursus 142 — On the One Ring of Epistemology”
Tag Archives: explanation
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 120 – On Dialectics as a Heuristic Rather than an Explanation
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 27 Dialectics may be understood as a method for apprehending movement, contradiction, change, and the plurality of reality. In this sense, it serves as a heuristic framework for inquiry rather than as a substitute for empirical explanation. The distinction resembles the relationship between hypothesis formation and scientificContinue reading “Excursus 120 – On Dialectics as a Heuristic Rather than an Explanation”
Excursus 081 – On Science and Technology
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”
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 042 – On Structural and Institutional Levels of Explanation
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 In discussions of social, economic, and political questions, structural constraints and institutional constraints are often treated as though they were identical. As a result, the origin of a phenomenon is frequently confused with the appropriate means of addressing it. Human reproduction provides a straightforward example. Pregnancy,Continue reading “Excursus 042 – On Structural and Institutional Levels of Explanation”
Excursus 013 – On the Typology of Theoretical Structure: Simplicus vs. Compositum
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 Bacon’s use of species infimae extends beyond biological kinds to encompass immediate sensory qualities. This broader usage invites a more general analysis of theoretical structure. However, because his use of the term extended beyond living kinds to include immediate sensory qualities, it invites a broader conceptualContinue reading “Excursus 013 – On the Typology of Theoretical Structure: Simplicus vs. Compositum”
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”
Hossein Jorjani 