Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 08 – 02 The emergence of sociobiology during the second half of the twentieth century represented one of the earliest systematic attempts to interpret human social behavior within an evolutionary framework. By emphasizing that human societies are products of biological evolution, it stimulated valuable dialogue between biology and theContinue reading “Excursus 126 – On the Methodological Limits of Classical Sociobiology”
Tag Archives: quantitative genetics
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 108 – On the Culture of Intellectual Disagreement
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 08 One of the defining characteristics of successful scientific communities is not the absence of disagreement but the manner in which disagreement is conducted. Scientific knowledge advances through criticism. Hypotheses are questioned, assumptions challenged, methods scrutinized, and conclusions re-examined. Vigorous intellectual disagreement is therefore not an obstacleContinue reading “Excursus 108 – On the Culture of Intellectual Disagreement”
Excursus 077 – On the Epistemological Consequences of Pedagogical Simplification
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 07 – 19 Introductory scientific education necessarily relies on simplified examples. Such examples are indispensable for teaching fundamental concepts before introducing the complexity of real scientific phenomena. Yet prolonged reliance on pedagogical simplifications may have unintended epistemological consequences. Students may gradually come to regard the simplified model not merelyContinue reading “Excursus 077 – On the Epistemological Consequences of Pedagogical Simplification”
Excursus 043 – From Pedagogical Models to Ontological Commitments
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 Scientific education commonly proceeds by means of simplified models. Because complex systems are difficult to understand in their full generality, instruction often begins with deliberately unrealistic cases that isolate a single principle while suppressing complicating factors. Such models serve an indispensable pedagogical function: they provide theContinue reading “Excursus 043 – From Pedagogical Models to Ontological Commitments”
Hossein Jorjani 