Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 28 It is often assumed that each academic discipline possesses its own distinct subject matter. This assumption is misleading. The boundaries separating disciplines frequently reflect differences in conceptual vocabulary, explanatory emphasis, and historical development rather than fundamentally different domains of reality. The same phenomenon may therefore beContinue reading “Excursus 124 – On the Relationship Between Disciplines and Their Subject Matter”
Tag Archives: philosophy of science
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 119 – On the Many Meanings of “Empirical”
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 23 The terms empirical, empiricism, and their derivatives have acquired multiple meanings throughout the history of philosophy and science. Although these meanings are historically related, they are not identical. Consequently, the mere assertion that a claim is “empirical” does not, by itself, specify either the method byContinue reading “Excursus 119 – On the Many Meanings of “Empirical””
Excursus 114 – On Darwin-independent Reconstruction of Evolution
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 15 Darwin’s historical achievement was to synthesize evidence from several branches of biology into a coherent theory of evolution by common descent. This historical fact, however, should not be confused with an epistemological necessity. A scientific theory may be said to be Darwin-independent if its principal conceptualContinue reading “Excursus 114 – On Darwin-independent Reconstruction of Evolution”
Excursus 113 – On Illustrative and Demonstrative Examples
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 22 Hegel was one of the most original and influential philosophers in the history of Western thought. His intellectual ambition was extraordinary, and many of his ideas stimulated generations of philosophers, including some of his severest critics. Yet originality alone does not guarantee methodological precision. While readingContinue reading “Excursus 113 – On Illustrative and Demonstrative Examples”
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 106 – Platonic and Aristotelian Essentialism in the Light of Continuous Variation
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 20 Modern discussions of essentialism often blur an important distinction between Plato and Aristotle. Although both philosophers are commonly described as essentialists, they understood the location and nature of essences in fundamentally different ways. For Plato, the essence of a thing does not belong to the individualContinue reading “Excursus 106 – Platonic and Aristotelian Essentialism in the Light of Continuous Variation”
Excursus 103 – The Moral Responsibility of Scholarly Communities
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 05 The twentieth century profoundly altered the relationship between scholarship, politics, and society. The unprecedented destructive capacity demonstrated during the two World Wars—culminating in genocide, strategic bombing, and nuclear weapons—led many intellectuals to question whether scientific and scholarly activity could be regarded as morally neutral. Organized knowledgeContinue reading “Excursus 103 – The Moral Responsibility of Scholarly Communities”
Excursus 102 – The Afterlife of the Allegory of the Cave
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 20 Few philosophical images have exercised a greater influence on Western thought than Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. Yet its historical significance lies not only in Plato’s original doctrine, but also in the successive reinterpretations it has inspired. The history of the Cave illustrates how powerful philosophicalContinue reading “Excursus 102 – The Afterlife of the Allegory of the Cave”
Hossein Jorjani 