Small words can carry intellectual discipline.
May is one of them.
A claim stated as fact asks for evidence strong enough to support certainty.
A possibility stated with may does something different.
It asks to be examined without pretending the examination is already complete.
This is not an excuse for vague writing.
May should not be used to smuggle unsupported claims past scrutiny.
It is useful when uncertainty is real.
A pattern may explain part of what we are seeing.
A new practice may help.
A result may be caused by several interacting conditions.
An interpretation may be wrong.
The word keeps more than one future available.
That can matter in philosophy, science, relationships, leadership, and ordinary judgment.
Certainty has force.
So does honest uncertainty.
Sometimes the most precise sentence is the one that leaves room for what has not yet been established.

A reflection on epistemic language: 'may' can preserve uncertainty without collapsing into vagueness, allowing a possibility to be examined without being declared fact.

Small words can carry intellectual discipline.

A claim stated as fact asks for evidence strong enough to support certainty.

A possibility stated with may does something different.

It asks to be examined without pretending the examination is already complete.

May should not be used to smuggle unsupported claims past scrutiny.

A pattern may explain part of what we are seeing.

A result may be caused by several interacting conditions.

The word keeps more than one future available.

That can matter in philosophy, science, relationships, leadership, and ordinary judgment.

Sometimes the most precise sentence is the one that leaves room for what has not yet been established.

“May” Leaves Room for Inquiry