Excursus 039 – On Bacon’s Asymmetry of Induction and Deduction

Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 Bacon’s principal target of criticism in Novum Organum I:30 was the upward movement from particulars to general propositions. He argued that the traditional method, which he termed inductio vulgaris (“vulgar induction”), merely gathered instances, leapt prematurely to universal statements, and then relied on syllogistic demonstration toContinue reading “Excursus 039 – On Bacon’s Asymmetry of Induction and Deduction”

Excursus 009 – On Induction, Deduction, and the Syllogistic Structure of Aristotle

Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 In Aristotle’s theory of demonstrative science (epistēmē apodeiktikē), knowledge arises through necessary reasoning from first principles (archai). These principles are grasped intuitively by nous and form the foundation from which other propositions follow through deduction. The following outline summarizes the Aristotelian system of deductive reasoning: InContinue reading “Excursus 009 – On Induction, Deduction, and the Syllogistic Structure of Aristotle”

Excursus 004 – On Bacon’s Use of the Term Dialectic

Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 In the Novum Organum (1620), Bacon employs the terms “dialectic” and “dialectical” in a specifically syllogistic sense: a scholastic structure of reasoning that proceeds syllogistically from received axioms. The term therefore designates a formal apparatus of argumentation—major premise, minor premise, and conclusion—rather than dialogical exchange orContinue reading “Excursus 004 – On Bacon’s Use of the Term Dialectic”

Excursus 001 – On the Organon and the Novum Organum

Hossein Jorjani First publication: 2026 – 06 – 30 Francis Bacon’s Instauratio magna (1620) is often regarded as the manifesto of the early modern scientific revolution. Less frequently noticed is that its six-part structure was deliberately modeled on Aristotle’s Organon. Bacon’s Instauratio magna (“Great Renewal”) was conceived in deliberate correspondence with Aristotle’s Organon (“Instrument”), theContinue reading “Excursus 001 – On the Organon and the Novum Organum”