Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 In modern science, references to God or Scripture are absent from scientific discourse. This reflects the principle of methodological naturalism, in which science explains phenomena solely in terms of natural causes and observable evidence. While individual scientists may hold personal religious beliefs, such beliefs are notContinue reading “Excursus 036 – On Scriptures and Science”
Tag Archives: scientific method
Excursus 033 – On the Reciprocal Development of Philosophy and Science
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 In Aphorism I:80 of the Novum Organum (1620), Bacon argues that the sciences lose depth and vitality when they become detached from natural philosophy, which he regarded as their common source. The following remarks do not attempt to restate Bacon’s hierarchical conception. Rather, they propose aContinue reading “Excursus 033 – On the Reciprocal Development of Philosophy and Science”
Excursus 032 – Theoretical Splendour and Empirical Responsibility
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 Bacon’s use of the remark that the Greeks were “always children” was directed against philosophies that excelled in eloquence, subtlety, and conceptual brilliance, yet failed to yield productive knowledge. His criticism was not aimed at theory as such, nor at intellectual refinement, but at the separationContinue reading “Excursus 032 – Theoretical Splendour and Empirical Responsibility”
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”
Excursus 022 – On the History of Systematic Cognitive Bias
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 Although Roger Bacon’s offendicula provided an earlier catalogue of obstacles to knowledge, Francis Bacon’s doctrine of the idola represented a much broader and more systematic theory of cognitive error. His Idola Tribus, for instance, echoed ancient reflections—from Stoic and Epicurean traditions—that universal human nature distorted perception,Continue reading “Excursus 022 – On the History of Systematic Cognitive Bias”
Excursus 018 – On Epistemology and Cognitive Science
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 Bacon’s taxonomy of idola was an early attempt to systematize the sources of error in human thought. While his classification emphasized cultural, linguistic, and experiential distortions, modern cognitive science reveals an additional biological dimension to these sources of error. Perceptual and cognitive processes are constrained byContinue reading “Excursus 018 – On Epistemology and Cognitive Science”
Excursus 016 – On the Progression of Science
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 It may be argued that, alongside the two methodological paths described by Bacon, there exists a third path that begins from experience but allows for the early projection of broad hypotheses, which then guide the search for intermediate propositions and empirical tests. These high-level generalizations guideContinue reading “Excursus 016 – On the Progression of Science”
Excursus 015 – On Mathematical Analysis and in silico Experiments
Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 Bacon’s methodological framework assumed the universal applicability of experimentation, an assumption that modern science has found only partly sustainable. In many domains— including astronomy, evolutionary biology, cosmology, and historical human development —direct experimental manipulation of phenomena is not feasible, whether for practical or ethical reasons. InContinue reading “Excursus 015 – On Mathematical Analysis and in silico Experiments”
Hossein Jorjani 