The journaltext that i read this week was lacking a lot of theory and with the seminar fresh in mind i would have wanted to choose a different text from the beginning. I will read the text again, with my new knowledge in mind, mainly to see if I can look at the use of theory in another viewing angle this time.
In compared to the previous weeks i feel that this theme has been more abstract in a sense that theory is hard to explain, because it can be so many things. When we talked about Kant in the first week it was hard to understand, but when someone described and talked about what he meant, it got way more understandable.
I would say that what i learned today is basically that you can't give theory a single definition or a simple explanation. Theory can have many interpretations and it is far more easy to talk about what theory is not. We talked about scientific theory, philosophical theory, and that sometimes when you talk about theory you are actually better of just calling it an hypothesis.
Normative theory is neither true or false because it can't be proven or disproven. An example of this is if i would say that: "Humans were more happy in the 11th century than they are in the 21st century". There is no way of proving this or vice versa.
Talking about other students texts we elaborated on that theory generates predictions and that
theory is a set of propositions. We ended the seminar with elaborating on scientific theories and that theories in science often is used to explain new things, with the help of the theories presented.
I learned during the seminar and lecture that we who are just started to learning about theory can use the definition Leif gave us:
SvaraRadera"A theory is a set of propositions that aims to identify (abstract) objects and their relation to each other. A theory is an abstract entity that aims to describe, explain, and enhance understanding of the world and, in some cases, to provide predictions of what will happen in the future and to give a basis for intervention and action. Theory is something we construct, it does not exist by itself"
I find the part that says "set of prepositions" very useful, since this I think this can be applied to all types of theory. Do you agree with me? So I'm trying to use this as some sort of filter when I try to identify theory.
Hi,
SvaraRaderaIn a simple way, I think theory is a set of proportional that aim to identify with using scientific method and their relation. Of course, in the Leif course, he gives us a lot of theory definition and maybe everyone has their own definition regarding of theory itself. Furthermore, I think theory is slightly different with the hypothesis. A Theory is something that already proven and a hypothesis is something that need to be proven. You need theories to back up a hypothesis, and then this hypothesis will be tested with several methods to prove your hypothesis. If this hypothesis is true, then it can be a new theory.