ABSTRACT The demarcation problem persists by asking the wrong question: 'What is science?'. We argue instead for functional essentialism, positing that scientific legitimacy is a functional achievement—the successful attainment of domain-appropriate empirical validation (Tier L5) within a genealogical process. To operationalize this, we introduce a dual framework: a seven-tier genealogical spectrum (L1-L7) mapping epistemic maturation, cross-cut by a typology of Three Epistemic Modes (Sciences, Humanities, and the novel Hybrid Mode, characterized by symbiotic integration). This framework recontextualizes classic dilemmas—demoting falsification to a mode-specific tool—and, pivotally, reframes robust Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) as mature Hybrid Mode exemplars. A detailed analysis of the Balinese Subak demonstrates its functional socio-technical core achieving L5 validation through sustained socio-ecological resilience, symbiotically constituted with its Tri Hita Karana cosmology. From this, we derive the Principle of Mode-Appropriate Evaluation, dissolving the demarcation problem in favor of strategic epistemic pluralism and a reoriented project of analyzing epistemic diversity.
Yohanes Yohanes (Mon,) studied this question.