This is due to the role theory plays In social research, a role complicated by the fact that it Is utilised for different purposes by different academic perspectives working in different philosophical traditions within the human sciences.
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What is a theory?
A theory is a proposition about the relationship between things. In principle, a theory is universal, applying at all times and to all instances of the thing(s) in question. In the social sciences, the notion of ‘theory’ needs to be treated more cautiously than in the natural sciences, because of the complexity of social phenomena and because people react to knowledge about themselves in a way that chemicals and forces do not.
from:
Denscombe, M. (2003) The Good Research Guide: For Small-Scale Social Research Projects: For Small-Scale Social Research Projects. 2nd Edition. Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom: Open University Press. ISBN: 9780335213030.
Theory. Supposition or system of ideas intended to explain something In modern science, the term "theory" refers to scientific theories, a well-confirmed type of explanation of nature, made in a way consistent with the scientific method, and fulfilling the criteria required by modern science. Such theories are described in such a way that scientific tests should be able to provide empirical support for it, or empirical contradiction ("falsify") of it.
Scientific theories are the most reliable, rigorous, and comprehensive form of scientific knowledge,[1] in contrast to more common uses of the word "theory" that imply that something is unproven or speculative (which in formal terms is better characterized by the word hypothesis).[2] Scientific theories are distinguished from hypotheses, which are individual empirically testable conjectures, and from scientific laws, which are descriptive accounts of the way nature behaves under certain conditions. Intertheoretic reduction and elimination [edit]
☢️ Theroy: Build. Background Theory. Focal Theory. Data Theory. Axiom. An axiom or postulate is a premise or starting point of reasoning. As classically conceived, an axiom is a premise so evident as to be accepted as true without controversy.[1] The word comes from the Greek axíōma (ἀξίωμα) 'that which is thought worthy or fit' or 'that which commends itself as evident.'[2][3] As used in modern logic, an axiom is simply a premise or starting point for reasoning.[4] Axioms define and delimit the realm of analysis; the relative truth of an axiom is taken for granted within the particular domain of analysis, and serves as a starting point for deducing and inferring other relative truths. No explicit view regarding the absolute truth of axioms is ever taken in the context of modern mathematics, as such a thing is considered to be an irrelevant and impossible contradiction in terms.
In mathematics, the term axiom is used in two related but distinguishable senses: "logical axioms" and "non-logical axioms". Etymology[edit] Historical development[edit] Postulates. Adaptive system. The term adaptation is used in biology in relation to how living beings adapt to their environments, but with two different meanings. First, the continuous adaptation of an organism to its environment, so as to maintain itself in a viable state, through sensory feedback mechanisms. Second, the development (through evolutionary steps) of an adaptation (an anatomic structure, physiological process or behavior characteristic) that increases the probability of an organism reproducing itself (although sometimes not directly). [citation needed] Generally speaking, an adaptive system is a set of interacting or interdependent entities, real or abstract, forming an integrated whole that together are able to respond to environmental changes or changes in the interacting parts.
Some artificial systems can be adaptive as well; for instance, robots employ control systems that utilize feedback loops to sense new conditions in their environment and adapt accordingly. The Law of Adaptation[edit] Let .
Butterfly effect. In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependency on initial conditions in which a small change at one place in a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. The name of the effect, coined by Edward Lorenz, is derived from the theoretical example of a hurricane's formation being contingent on whether or not a distant butterfly had flapped its wings several weeks earlier. Although the butterfly effect may appear to be an unlikely behavior, it is exhibited by very simple systems. For example, a ball placed at the crest of a hill may roll into any surrounding valley depending on, among other things, slight differences in its initial position. History[edit] Chaos theory and the sensitive dependence on initial conditions was described in the literature in a particular case of the three-body problem by Henri Poincaré in 1890.[1] He later proposed that such phenomena could be common, for example, in meteorology.
Illustration[edit] , then. 2012 - (Forest Research) Theories and models of behaviour and behaviour change. 〰️ Theories of Cl. Communication Studies - Theory Clusters. ⏫ Economics. ☢️ Empiricism. Theories of Explanation Within the philosophy of science there have been competing ideas about what an explanation is. Historically, explanation has been associated with causation: to explain an event or phenomenon is to identify its cause. But with the growth and development of philosophy of science in the 20th century, the concept of explanation began to receive more rigorous and specific analysis. Of particular concern were theories that posited the existence of unobservable entities and processes (atoms, fields, genes, and so forth). These posed a dilemma: on the one hand, the staunch empiricist had to reject unobservable entities as a matter of principle; on the other, theories that appealed to unobservable entities were clearly producing revolutionary results.
Thus philosophers of science sought some way to characterize the obvious value of these theories without abandoning the empiricist principles deemed central to scientific rationality. Table of Contents 1. A physical theory is not an explanation. 2.
☢️ Grounded. Grand theory. Grand theory is a term invented by the American sociologist C. Wright Mills in The Sociological Imagination[1] to refer to the form of highly abstract theorizing in which the formal organization and arrangement of concepts takes priority over understanding the social world. In his view, grand theory was more or less separated from the concrete concerns of everyday life and its variety in time and space. The main target of Mills was Talcott Parsons, also an American sociologist and the architect of structural functionalism, against whom he insisted that there is no grand theory in the sense of one universal scheme to understand the unity of social structures, according to Gregory.[2] In Parsons view "grand theory" integrated not only sociological concepts, but also psychological, economic, political, and religious or philosophical components.
He tried to integrate all the social sciences within an overarching theoretical framework.[2] See also[edit] References[edit] Generalization. A generalization (or generalisation) of a concept is an extension of the concept to less-specific criteria. It is a foundational element of logic and human reasoning. [citation needed] Generalizations posit the existence of a domain or set of elements, as well as one or more common characteristics shared by those elements. As such, they are the essential basis of all valid deductive inferences.
The process of verification is necessary to determine whether a generalization holds true for any given situation. The concept of generalization has broad application in many related disciplines, sometimes having a specialized context or meaning. Of any two related concepts, such as A and B, A is a "generalization" of B, and B is a special case of A, if and only if every instance of concept B is also an instance of concept A; andthere are instances of concept A which are not instances of concept B. Hypernym and hyponym[edit] Examples[edit] Biological generalization[edit] Geometric generalizations[edit]
☢️ Theroy: KBV. MINDSPACE Behavioural Economics. Update: Professor Cass Sunstein, co-author of Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness, will speak at the Institute for Government on 22 March 2013. Background New insights from science and behaviour change could lead to significantly improved outcomes, and at a lower cost, than the way many conventional policy tools are used. MINDSPACE: Influencing behaviour through public policy was published by the Institute for Government and the Cabinet Office on 2 March 2010.
The report explores how behaviour change theory can help meet current policy challenges, such as how to: reduce crime tackle obesity ensure environmental sustainability. Today's policy makers are in the business of influencing behaviour - they need to understand the effects their policies may be having. Blogs MINDSPACE grows up – behavioural economics in government Reaction "brilliant" - Sir Gus O'Donnell, Cabinet Secretary "this is the best report of its kind - it is reflective and practical at the same time.
Metatheory. This article is about theories about theories. For the concept in logic, see Metatheorem. A metatheory or meta-theory is a theory whose subject matter is some theory. All fields of research share some meta-theory, regardless whether this is explicit or correct. In a more restricted and specific sense, in mathematics and mathematical logic, metatheory means a mathematical theory about another mathematical theory. The following is an example of a meta-theoretical statement:[1] Meta-theoretical investigations are generally part of philosophy of science. Taxonomy[edit] In mathematics[edit] The study of metatheory became widespread during the rest of that century by its application in other fields, notably scientific linguistics and its concept of metalanguage.
See also[edit] References[edit] Jump up ^ Stephen Hawking in A Brief History of Time External links[edit] Meta-theoretical Issues (2003), Lyle Flint. Middle range theory. Middle range theory can refer to theories in: Neoclassical economics. Neoclassical economics dominates microeconomics, and together with Keynesian economics forms the neoclassical synthesis which dominates mainstream economics today.[2] Although neoclassical economics has gained widespread acceptance by contemporary economists, there have been many critiques of neoclassical economics, often incorporated into newer versions of neoclassical theory. Overview[edit] The term was originally introduced by Thorstein Veblen in his 1900 article 'Preconceptions of Economic Science', in which he related marginalists in the tradition of Alfred Marshall et al. to those in the Austrian School.[3][4] "No attempt will here be made even to pass a verdict on the relative claims of the recognized two or three main "schools" of theory, beyond the somewhat obvious finding that, for the purpose in hand, the so-called Austrian school is scarcely distinguishable from the neo-classical, unless it be in the different distribution of emphasis.
Three central assumptions[edit]
☢️ Theroy: TRA. Rational Choice Theory (RCT) Rationality is widely used as an assumption of the behavior of individuals in microeconomic models and analyses and appears in almost all economics textbook treatments of human decision-making. It is also central to some of modern political science,[2] sociology,[3] and philosophy. A particular version of rationality is instrumental rationality, which involves seeking the most cost-effective means to achieve a specific goal without reflecting on the worthiness of that goal. Gary Becker was an early proponent of applying rational actor models more widely.[4] Becker won the 1992 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his studies of discrimination, crime, and human capital.[5] Definition and scope[edit] The concept of rationality used in rational choice theory is different from the colloquial and most philosophical use of the word.
Rational choice theorists do not claim that the theory describes the choice process, but rather that it predicts the outcome and pattern of choices. Realism (international relations) Jonathan Haslam from the University of Cambridge characterizes Realism as "a spectrum of ideas. "[2] Regardless of which definition is used, the theories of realism revolve around four central propositions:[1] Realism is a tradition of international theory centered upon four propositions.[3] The international system is anarchic. No actor exists above states, capable of regulating their interactions; states must arrive at relations with other states on their own, rather than it being dictated to them by some higher controlling entity.The international system exists in a state of constant antagonism (see international anarchy).States are the most important actors.All states within the system are unitary, rational actors States tend to pursue self-interest.Groups strive to attain as many resources as possible (see relative gain).The primary concern of all states is survival.
States build up military to survive, which may lead to a security dilemma. Modern realist statesmen Ashley, Richard K. ⏫ Stakeholder. Systems thinking. Impression of systems thinking about society[1] A system is composed of interrelated parts or components (structures) that cooperate in processes (behavior). Natural systems include biological entities, ocean currents, the climate, the solar system and ecosystems. Designed systems include airplanes, software systems, technologies and machines of all kinds, government agencies and business systems. Systems Thinking has at least some roots in the General System Theory that was advanced by Ludwig von Bertalanffy in the 1940s and furthered by Ross Ashby in the 1950s.
The term Systems Thinking is sometimes used as a broad catch-all heading for the process of understanding how systems behave, interact with their environment and influence each other. Systems thinking has been applied to problem solving, by viewing "problems" as parts of an overall system, rather than reacting to specific parts, outcomes or events and potentially contributing to further development of unintended consequences.
Structural functionalism. Theory[edit] Classical theories are defined by a tendency towards biological analogy and notions of social evolutionism: Functionalist thought, from Comte onwards, has looked particularly towards biology as the science providing the closest and most compatible model for social science. Biology has been taken to provide a guide to conceptualizing the structure and the function of social systems and to analyzing processes of evolution via mechanisms of adaptation ... functionalism strongly emphasises the pre-eminence of the social world over its individual parts (i.e. its constituent actors, human subjects).
While one may regard functionalism as a logical extension of the organic analogies for societies presented by political philosophers such as Rousseau, sociology draws firmer attention to those institutions unique to industrialized capitalist society (or modernity). Émile Durkheim was concerned with the question of how certain societies maintain internal stability and survive over time.
☢️ Theroy: TAM. Type polymorphism.