Precision Approximation and Honesty Ethics: The Birth of a New Epistemological Framework——From the 1923 "Science vs. Metaphysics" Debate to the AI Era

This paper proposes a new epistemological framework——Precision Approximation Epistemology (PAE)——to resolve the long-standing 'standard anxiety' in the humanities and social sciences, where research is judged by criteria imported from the natural sciences without regard to the fundamental differences in their objects of study. It introduces the tangibility/intangibility spectrum as an alternative to the traditional 'nature vs. humanities' dichotomy, proposes honesty ethics as the central evaluative norm of academic practice, and provides operational tools including the precision statement and auditability annotation.