
This concept note introduces recursive criteria-lessness as a preliminary analytical observation within the framework of criteriology. The concept describes situations in which the absence of explicit, operational, or documented criteria may appear across multiple analytical levels, including evaluation, classification, and documentation processes. Building on earlier work on criteria-lessness, the note suggests that such absence may not be confined to individual evaluative decisions but may extend to higher-order processes that structure how decisions are made and documented. This multi-level pattern may contribute to conditions in which evaluative frameworks become difficult to reconstruct. The concept is methodologically aligned with prior work on cross-level analytical distribution within the Self-Matryoshka Analytical Framework (S-MAF). The note is conceptual and exploratory, and does not assess specific cases or practices. It is intended to support further empirical investigation and analytical development within the broader research programme on criteriology and the Self-Matryoshka Analytical Framework (S-MAF). Subsequent publications will examine document-based manifestations of these patterns in practice.
criteriology, criteria-lessness, recursive criteria-lessness, evaluation, decision-making, classification, documentation, multi-level analysis, normative opacity
criteriology, criteria-lessness, recursive criteria-lessness, evaluation, decision-making, classification, documentation, multi-level analysis, normative opacity
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