Chapter Two The Idea of Theory

1
Chapter TwoThe Idea of Theory

• Theories help us see the world in an organized
  and synthesized form that reveals patterns and
  connections among the data.
• Theories help guide us in what we observe and
  also in how to observe.
• They enable us to make predictions about outcomes
  and effects
• They help in communicating knowledge.

2
the term theory

• refers to an organized set of concepts,
• explanations,
• and principles of some aspect of human experience
  
• All theories are abstractions, focusing on
  certain things while ignoring others.
• All theories are constructions created by people
  and not ordained from above.

3
There are four basic elements of theory

• Philosophic assumptions.
• Issues of epistemology deal with the nature of
  knowledge, how we know what we claim to know.
• One epistemological concern is to what extent can
  knowledge exist before experience.
• A second is to what extent can knowledge be
  certain.
• Universalists believe they are seeking immutable
  and absolute knowledge.
• Relativists contend what we can know is filtered
  through our own perceptions, experiences, and
  theories and are never static.

4
A third is by what process does knowledge arise

• Rationalism suggests knowledge arises out of the
  sheer power of the human mind.
• Empiricism states that knowledge arises in
  perception.
• Constructivism holds that people create knowledge
  in order to function in the world.
• Social constructionism posits that knowledge is
  product of group and cultural experiences.

5
A fourth is whether knowledge is best conceived
in parts or wholes.

• Gestaltists take a holistic approach.
• Gestalt A physical, biological, psychological,
  or symbolic configuration or pattern of elements
  so unified as a whole that its properties cannot
  be derived from a simple summation of its parts.
• Analysts believe that knowledge consists of
  understanding how parts operate separately.

6
A fifth is to what extent is knowledge explicit

• Some claim that knowledge is that which is
  explicitly stated.
• Others hold that much of knowledge is tacit (not
  spoken, or ineffable, beyond language or words).

7
Philosophic issues of ontology

• deal with the nature of being and goes hand in
  hand with epistemology.
• One ontological question is to what extent do
  humans make real choices.
• Determinists hold that behavior is caused by a
  multitude of prior conditions and that humans are
  basically reactive and passive.
• Pragmatists claim that people plan their behavior
  to meet future goals.

8
A second issue is whether human behavior is best
understood in terms of states or traits?

• Traits are fairly stable dimensions
• States are more temporary conditions that affect
  people.

9
A third issue is whether human experience is
primarily individual or social.

• Individual focuses on behavior as being an
  individualistic experience.
• Others believe that humans cannot be understood
  apart from their social relationships.

10
A fourth ontological issue is to what extent is
communication contextual.

• Some hold that human life is best understood by
  looking at universal factors.
• Others contend that behavior is richly contextual
  and cannot be generalized.

11
Philosophic issues of axiology deal with values.

• One axiological issue is whether theory can be
  value free.
• A related value issue is to what extent does the
  practice of inquiry influence that which is
  studied?

12
Another axiological issue concerns the aim of
scholarship

• Should it be designed to achieve change?
• Or should it be designed to reveal knowledge
  without intervention?

13
Another issue addressed by axiology

• deals with the extent scholarship should be
  directed toward achieving social change.

14
Two general positions polarize these issues

• Value-conscious scholarship is based on the
  assumption that theories cannot be value-free.
• Value-free scholarship is based on the assumption
  that theories can be objective and void of the
  scholars personal views.

15
Concepts are the building blocks of theories.

• Concepts are the terms and definitions we use in
  theories.
• They tell us what the theorist is looking at and
  what is considered important.
• Theories that stop at the conceptual level and
  provide just a list of categories without
  explaining how they relate are called taxonomies.

16
The best theories go beyond taxonomies and
include explanations.

• Explanations describe patterns and regularities
  and provide accounts for why certain things
  occur.
• There are many types of explanations but two of
  the most common are causal and practical.
• In causal, events are connected where one
  variable is an outcome or result of the other.
• In practical, actions are considered to be goal
  directed designed to achieve a future state.

17
Principles are

• guidelines included in only a selected class of
  theories that enables one to
• interpret an event
• make judgments about what is happening
• and decide how to act.

18
Principles

• A principle identifies a situation or event.
• A principle includes a set of norms or values
• A principle asserts a connection between a range
  of actions and possible consequences.