The quality of being discursive; the tendency to digress or wander in discussion; the use of extended reasoning.
From 'discursive' plus '-ness', building on Latin 'discursivus'. It creates an abstract noun for the quality or state of ranging widely or thinking through extended logical sequences.
English teachers often criticize 'discursiveness' in student writing—meaning the student jumps around topics too much. But in philosophy, discursiveness is respected as sign of rigorous, step-by-step reasoning. The same word gets opposite evaluations depending on context.
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