The Logic of Qualitative Progress in Nomic, Design, and Explicative Research

The leading idea of this paper is twofold: (i) claims that progress has been
made can be justified, and (ii) progress in different areas has a common structure. The paper proposes two general sufficient conditions for making justified claims of qualitative progress. The conditions are first presented in their strict form, assuming a specific target. They are then applied to theory-oriented research aiming at nomic truth approximation as well as to design research aiming at a certain product or process.
Next, the two conditions are generalized, instead of assuming a specific target,
now only assuming that some specific constraints have to be satisfied. They are again applied to theory-oriented science, but now only as far as it primarily aims at empirical progress in light of constraints provided by evidence. It can be shown that such empirical progress is functional for nomic truth approximation. The generalized conditions are also applied to concept explication, undertaken in philosophy and science, where the constraints are provided by evident examples and conditions of adequacy, leading to explicative progress. Finally, progress in design research is briefly revisited in the generalized perspective.
The paper closes with some suggestions for further research, notably case-studies and elaborating applications to e.g. technological, social and moral progress.