Absence Is Not Detection: On the Reification of Residuals in Scientific Inference
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| Natura: | Recurso digital |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866901631585484800 |
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| author | Doumbouya, Lisa |
| author_facet | Doumbouya, Lisa |
| contents | <p>Scientific inference depends on a strict epistemic ordering between observation, model-based interpretation, and ontological claim. In contemporary practice, this ordering is increasingly violated through the premature promotion of absences, residuals, and model incompletions to assertions of physical existence. While indirect inference is a legitimate and essential component of scientific reasoning, it does not, by itself, establish ontology. This paper formalizes a common methodological failure mode in which inference is elevated to existence prior to direct detection or constraint, rendering claims unfalsifiable at the time they are made. We distinguish detection, inference, and ontological assertion as non-interchangeable epistemic categories and present a minimal taxonomy identifying where improper escalation occurs. By clarifying these boundaries, the framework preserves falsifiability, corrective feedback, and methodological credibility without restricting hypothesis generation or exploratory modeling.</p> |
| format | Recurso digital |
| id | zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_18742233 |
| institution | Zenodo |
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| publishDate | 2026 |
| publisher | Zenodo |
| record_format | zenodo |
| spellingShingle | Absence Is Not Detection: On the Reification of Residuals in Scientific Inference Doumbouya, Lisa Scientific inference Faslifiability Epistemology of science indirect dectection Residual analysis Ontological claims Model incompletion Methodology Philosophy of measurement <p>Scientific inference depends on a strict epistemic ordering between observation, model-based interpretation, and ontological claim. In contemporary practice, this ordering is increasingly violated through the premature promotion of absences, residuals, and model incompletions to assertions of physical existence. While indirect inference is a legitimate and essential component of scientific reasoning, it does not, by itself, establish ontology. This paper formalizes a common methodological failure mode in which inference is elevated to existence prior to direct detection or constraint, rendering claims unfalsifiable at the time they are made. We distinguish detection, inference, and ontological assertion as non-interchangeable epistemic categories and present a minimal taxonomy identifying where improper escalation occurs. By clarifying these boundaries, the framework preserves falsifiability, corrective feedback, and methodological credibility without restricting hypothesis generation or exploratory modeling.</p> |
| title | Absence Is Not Detection: On the Reification of Residuals in Scientific Inference |
| topic | Scientific inference Faslifiability Epistemology of science indirect dectection Residual analysis Ontological claims Model incompletion Methodology Philosophy of measurement |
| url | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18742233 |