Semantic Assistance without Epistemic Delegation. A Method for Controlled Human–LLM Co-Formulation in Theoretical Research

Large language models do not merely accelerate writing. They alter the conditions under which writing can appear to count as thinking. This is especially consequential for theoretical research. In empirical contexts, a claim can often be checked against data, instruments, measurements, or established protocols. The check may be difficult, incomplete, or contested, but there is usually a recognized difference between producing a claim and testing it. In theoretical work, the distinction is less externally visible. A text may look rigorous because it is coherent, well-structured, terminologically precise, and rhetorically balanced. Yet none of these features is identical with argumentative validity. A formulation can be plausible without being verified; a distinction can sound precise without doing the required work; an analogy can feel illuminating without preserving the structure it is meant to clarify.