Rigour

(also see head-based knowledge, other key terms and a longer article on academic rigour).

A commonly applied term

• see Wikiwand entries
• Scholastic, or intellectual rigour is a type of reasoning and explanation in which its logical consistency is tacitly assumed to equate to veracity. It therefore:

1. avoids self-contradiction
2. is as comprehensive as possible
3. contains no logical fallacy
4. adopts a sceptical position

The metaphor is misleading

• This is not to claim that the above criteria are all worthless, but that the metaphor of rigidity can be unhelpful to learners.
• According to Einstein's principles of time and space, rigid bodies are not rigid.
• Our living world is in constant flux, so we can only simulate inflexibility by remaining situated, agile and adaptive

Where might we find rigour in Nature?

• Mathematics is rigorous because it adheres to the logical rules that we designed in order to create rigour.
• But evolution operates on every level, so we can expect to find emergence and change everywhere.
• Perhaps we encounter rigour at the quantum level with nonlocality...<?>

See a longer article on academic rigour