What does the paper argue?

This paper introduces Iterative Adversarial Inquiry (IAI), colloquially known as the Whetstone Method, a framework for generating original theoretical contributions through structured adversarial debate. The dominant model of social science research, the hypothetico-deductive method, begins with a hypothesis and tests it against data. IAI begins differently: with a provocation derived from a researcher's existing, post-experiential bias, which is then subjected to adversarial pressure in two sequential debate stages: a logical debate that tests internal coherence, and a literature debate that tests novelty and positioning. The framework is cyclical rather than linear. We argue that this method is epistemologically superior to hypothesis-first research for one specific class of problem: generating the theoretical category that does not yet exist.