Dear Colleagues,
Here follow more definitions of the word theory from
several dictionaries.
Best regards,
Ken Friedman
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This note is part of a preliminary draft for a discussion of design theory.
The definitions in this note are copyright by the publishers cited
beneath each reference. All rights are reserved.
The definitions in this text may be reproduced and quoted for
scholarly purposes provided that each definition is properly sourced
with copyright acknowledgement to the publisher.
--
Headword Theory
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def theory: the·o·ry noun plural -ries Pronunciation: 'thE-&-rE,
'thi(-&)r-E Etymology: Late Latin theoria, from Greek theOria, from
theOrein Date: 1592 1 : the analysis of a set of facts in their
relation to one another 2 : abstract thought : SPECULATION 3 : the
general or abstract principles of a body of fact, a science, or an
art <music theory> 4 a : a belief, policy, or procedure proposed or
followed as the basis of action <her method is based on the theory
that all children want to learn> b : an ideal or hypothetical set of
facts, principles, or circumstances -- often used in the phrase in
theory <in theory, we have always advocated freedom for all> 5 : a
plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of
principles offered to explain phenomena <wave theory of light> 6 a :
a hypothesis assumed for the sake of argument or investigation b : an
unproved assumption : CONJECTURE c : a body of theorems presenting a
concise systematic view of a subject <theory of equations> synonym
see HYPOTHESIS (Britannica Webster's 1999)
Britannica Webster's. 1999. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Online edition. Chicago:
Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. URL: http://search.eb.com/. Date
accessed: 1999 November 21.
--
def theory [ad. late L. theria (Jerome in Ezech. XII. xl. 4), a. Gr.
a looking at, viewing, contemplation, speculation, theory, also a
sight, a spectacle, abstr. n. f. (:*) spectator, looker on, f. stem -
of to look on, view, contemplate. In mod. use prob. from med.L.
transl. of Aristotle. Cf. It. teoria (Florio 1598 theoría), F.
théorie (15.. in Godef. Compl.).] 1. A sight, a spectacle. Obs. rare.
1605 BP. ANDREWES Serm., Passion (1631) 365 Saint Luke..calleth the
Passion a Theory or Sight... Of our blessed Saviour's whole life or
death, there is no part but is a Theorie of it selfe, well worthie
our looking on. 2. Mental view, contemplation. Obs. [1598-1611
FLORIO, Theoría, contemplation, speculation, deepe study, insight or
beholding.] 1611 COTGR., Theorie, theorie, contemplation, deepe
studie; a sight, or beholding, speculation. 1643 SIR T. BROWNE Relig.
Med. I. §45 Nor can I thinke I have the true Theory of death when I
contemplate a skull, or behold a Skeleton with those vulgar
imaginations it casts upon us. 1646 Pseud. Ep. VII. xix. 385 As they
encrease the hatred of vice in some, so doe they enlarge the theory
of wickednesse in all. 1653 W. HARVEY Anat. Exercit. Pref. v, All
their theory and contemplation (which they count Science) represents
nothing but waking mens dreams, and sick mens phrensies. 1710 NORRIS
Chr. Prud. ii. 65 Speculative Knowledge contemplates Truth for
itself, and accordingly stops and rests in the Contemplation of it,
which is what we commonly call Theory. 3. A conception or mental
scheme of something to be done, or of the method of doing it; a
systematic statement of rules or principles to be followed. 1597
HOOKER Eccl. Pol. V. xxix. §8 If they had been themselves to execute
their owne Theorie in this Church. 1643 BP. HALL Devout Soul i, It
will hardly be believed, how far some of their contemplative men have
gone in the theory hereof. 1674 DRYDEN Prol. Univ. Oxford 11 Your
theories are here to practice brought, As in mechanic operations
wrought. 1798 MALTHUS Popul. III. ii. (1806) II. 103 A theory that
will not admit of application cannot possibly be just. 1832 AUSTIN
Jurispr. (1879) II. 1133 Theory of what is and theory of what ought
to be are perpetually confounded. 1853 BRIGHT Sp. India 3 June (1876)
4 The theory of the old Government of India was one which could not
be defended. 1879 M. PATTISON Milton xiii. 219 Even the calm and
gentle author of the Christian Year..deliberately framed a theory of
Poetic for the express purpose, as it would seem, of excluding the
author of Paradise Lost from the first class of poets. 4. a. A scheme
or system of ideas or statements held as an explanation or account of
a group of facts or phenomena; a hypothesis that has been confirmed
or established by observation or experiment, and is propounded or
accepted as accounting for the known facts; a statement of what are
held to be the general laws, principles, or causes of something known
or observed. 1638 SIR T. HERBERT Trav. (ed. 2) 127 Or whether from
subterranean fires,..I dare not conclude, but leave such theories to
those that study Meteors. 1684 BURNET (title) The Theory of the
Earth. 1706 PHILLIPS (ed. Kersey), Theories of the Planets, certain
Hypotheses, or Suppositions about the Motions of the Heavens,
according to which, Astronomers explain..the Phænomena or Appearances
of the Planets. 1727-41 CHAMBERS Cycl. s.v., We say..theory of the
rainbow, of the microscope..the motion of the heart, the operation of
purgatives, etc. 1812 PLAYFAIR Nat. Phil. (1819) I. 3 A theory is
often nothing else but a contrivance for comprehending a certain
number of facts under one expression. 1850 GROVE Corr. Phys. Forces
(ed. 2) 105 Were a theory open to no objection it would cease to be a
theory, and would become a law. 1879 M. PATTISON Milton xiii. 180 The
Copernican theory, which placed the sun in the centre of our system,
was already the established belief of the few well-informed. 1890 A.
R. WALLACE Darwinism 7 The truest and most complete theory would not
enable us to solve all the difficult problems which the whole course
of the development of life upon our globe presents to us. b. That
department of an art or technical subject which consists in the
knowledge or statement of the facts on which it depends, or of its
principles or methods, as distinguished from the practice of it. 1613
R. CAWDREY Table Alph. (ed. 3), Theorie, the contemplation, or inward
knowledge of any art. 1626 BACON Sylva §327 The means, hitherto
propounded, to effect it, are in the practice, full of error and
imposture, and in the theory, full of unsound imaginations. 1660 R.
COKE Power & Subj. Pref. 5 A Musitian, who Composes well, yet
under~stands but little in the theory of Musick. 1795 HUTTON Math.
Dict. s.v., To be learned in an art, &c., the Theory is sufficient;
to be a master of it, both the Theory and practice are requisite.
1827 WHATELY Logic (ed. 2) 205 Logic being concerned with the theory
of Reasoning. 1828 J. S. MILL in Westm. Rev. IX. 155 A prodigious
step in the theory of naming. a1854 Early Draft Autobiogr. (1961)
135, I pushed on..to try whether I could do anything further to clear
up the theory of Logic generally. 1884 GROVE Dict. Mus. IV. 101/1
Theory, a term often used..to express the knowledge of Harmony,
Counter-point, Thorough~bass, etc., as distinguished from the art of
playing, which is..called 'Practice'. 1885 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 793/2
Epistemology (theory of knowledge, Erkenntnisstheorie). 1927 B.
RUSSELL Outl. Philos. xxiii. 248 Descartes..inaugurated two
movements, one in metaphysics, one in theory of knowledge. 1966 R. M.
CHISHOLM (title) Theory of Knowledge. c. A systematic statement of
the general principles or laws of some branch of mathematics; a set
of theorems forming a connected system: as the theory of equations,
of functions, of numbers, of probabilities. 1799 W. FREND (title) The
Principles of Algebra..; or the true Theory of Equations established
by mathematical demonstration. 1806 [see THEOREM 1a]. 1811 P. BARLOW
(title) An Elementary Investigation of the Theory of Numbers. 1838
[see PROBABILITY 3]. 1893 FORSYTH (title) Theory of Functions. 5. In
the abstract (without article): Systematic conception or statement of
the principles of something; abstract knowledge, or the formulation
of it: often used as implying more or less unsupported hypothesis
(cf. 6): distinguished from or opposed to practice (cf. 4b). in
theory (formerly in the theory): according to theory, theoretically
(opp. to in practice or in fact). 1624 T. MACARNESSE in Capt. Smith
Virginia Pref., That thou mightst read and know and safely see, What
he by practice, thou by Theoree. 1692 SIR W. HOPE Fencing-Master (ed.
2) 164 Theorie without Practice will serve but for little. 1769-72
Junius Lett. Pref. (1820) 17 Theory is at variance with practise.
1776 J. ADAMS Wks. (1854) IX. 375 It is certain, in theory, that the
only moral foundation of government is, the consent of the people.
1821 J. Q. ADAMS in Davies Metr. Syst. III. (1871) 175 A compromise
between philosophical theory and inveterate popular habits. 6. In
loose or general sense: A hypothesis proposed as an explanation;
hence, a mere hypothesis, speculation, conjecture; an idea or set of
ideas about something; an individual view or notion. Cf. 4. 1792
BURKE Corr. (1844) IV. 13 Whether I am right in the theory or
not,..the fact is as I state it. 1794 PALEY Evid. (1825) II. 347
Theories which have, at different times, gained possession of the
public mind. 1829 JAS. MILL Hum. Mind (1869) II. xxv. 403 The word
theory has been perverted to denote an operation..which..consists in
supposing and setting down matters supposed as matters observed.
Theory in fact has been confounded with Hypothesis. 1864 BOWEN Logic
xi. (1870) 375 A Theory, sometimes incorrectly used as a synonyme for
Hypothesis. 1867 M. E. HERBERT Cradle L. iii. 95 So varied are the
theories as to the origin of these wonderful sepulchres. 1880 T. A.
SPALDING Eliz. Demonol. 35 This was not a mere theory, but a vital
active belief. 7. Comb., as theory-making adj. and n., -building,
-monger, -spinning; theory-bigoted, -mad, -ridden adjs.; theory-blind
a., (a) blinded by a theory, so as to be unable to see the facts
truly; (b) blind to a theory, i.e. unable to see or apprehend it (cf.
colour-blind); theory-laden a., applied to a term, statement, etc.,
the use of which implies the acceptance of some theory; contrasted
with theory-free, -neutral adjs.; theory-man (nonce-wd.), a theorist;
theory-tailor, contemptuously for a shaper of theories. 1884 Q. Rev.
Apr. 337 More *theory-bigoted than Mr. . -- 1892 W. S. LILLY Gt.
Enigma 230 You cannot help recognising, unless you are
*theory-blind,..the law of correlation. 1902 Q. Rev. Apr. 359 No one
who is not theory-blinda very common form of blindness. -- 1780
Mirror No. 107 2 There is something..so delightful in this art of
*theory~building. 1964 Language XL. 225 Spelling out..how its results
have been incorporated into other experiments and theory-building. --
1977 A. GIDDENS Stud. in Social & Polit. Theory i. 49 As Feigl says,
most positivistically inclined authors today..recognize that
observation statements cannot be entirely '*theory-free'. -- 1958 N.
R. HANSON Patterns of Discovery i. 19 There is a sense..in which
seeing is a '*theory-laden' undertaking. Observation of x is shaped
by prior knowledge of x. 1977 A. GIDDENS Stud. in Social & Polit.
Theory 12 The theory-laden character of observation-statements in
natural sciences entails that the meaning of scientific contexts is
tied-in to the meaning of other terms in a theoretical network. --
1850 E. A. POE in Sartain's Union Mag. Oct. 233/1 He must be
*theory-mad beyond redemption who, in spite of these differences,
shall still persist in attempting to reconcile the obstinate oils and
waters of Poetry and Truth. -- 1931 A. HUXLEY Music at Night 77 The
*theory-making mind. 1964 I. L. HOROWITZ New Sociology 31 Problems of
this kind can be multiplied..in every sphere of sociology from
poll-taking to theory-making. -- 1727 DE FOE Syst. Magic I. i. (1840)
9 What our learned *theory-men insist to have been the causes of the
deluge. -- 1905 Academy 4 Feb. 105/1 It is high time that protest be
made..against the master's works being made the prey of
*theorymongers. -- 1968 J. J. C. SMART Betw. Sci. & Philos. iii. 80
Observation reports can not be couched in *theory-neutral language.
1977 A. GIDDENS Stud. in Social & Polit. Theory iii. 150 The
'orthodox view' has an answer which Habermas has apparently
(although..not finally) rejected: correspondence to sensorily
apprehended reality, grounded in the descriptions of a theory-neutral
observation language. -- 1922 R. FRY Let. 6 Mar. (1972) II. 522, I
don't take it to heart when you say that my pictures are the utterly
dismal performances of a *theory-ridden painter. -- 1904 WINDLE
Prehist. Age Pref. 13 There has been a vast amount of
*theory-spinning in connexion with the early epochs. -- 1876 MEREDITH
Beauch. Career xxxvii, These men are *theory-tailors not politicians.
-- (OED Online 2002: unpaged)
OED. 2002. OED Online. Oxford English Dictionary. Ed. J. A. Simpson
and E. S. C. Weiner. 2nd ed, 1989. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Oxford
University Press. URL: http://dictionary.oed.com/ Date accessed: 2002
January 18.
--
def theory Theory (Page: 1496) The"o*ry (?), n.; pl. Theories (#).
[F. théorie, L. theoria, Gr. a beholding, spectacle, contemplation,
speculation, fr. a spectator, to see, view. See Theater.] 1. A
doctrine, or scheme of things, which terminates in speculation or
contemplation, without a view to practice; hypothesis; speculation.
&hand; This word is employed by English writers in a very loose and
improper sense. It is with them usually convertible into hypothesis,
and hypothesis is commonly used as another term for conjecture. The
terms theory and theoretical are properly used in opposition to the
terms practice and practical. In this sense, they were exclusively
employed by the ancients; and in this sense, they are almost
exclusively employed by the Continental philosophers." Sir W.
Hamilton. 2. An exposition of the general or abstract principles of
any science; as, the theory of music. 3. The science, as
distinguished from the art; as, the theory and practice of medicine.
4. The philosophical explanation of phenomena, either physical or
moral; as, Lavoisier's theory of combustion; Adam Smith's theory of
moral sentiments. Atomic theory, Binary theory, etc. See under
Atomic, Binary, etc. Syn. -- Hypothesis, speculation. -- Theory,
Hypothesis. A theory is a scheme of the relations subsisting between
the parts of a systematic whole; an hypothesis is a tentative
conjecture respecting a cause of phenomena. (ARTFL Webster's 2002:
1496)
ARTFL Webster's. 1913. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (G &
C. Merriam Co., 1913, edited by Noah Porter). ARTFL (Project for
American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language).
Chicago: Divisions of the Humanities, University of Chicago. URL:
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/forms_unrest/webster.form.html. Date
accessed: 2002 January 18.
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def theory Syllables: the-o-ry Part of Speech noun Pronunciation thi
ri Inflected Forms theories Definition 1. a proposed explanation of
something, usu. based on abstract reasoning. Example the theory of
gravity. Synonyms hypothesis (1) Crossref. Syn. concept, idea Similar
Words supposition, conjecture, speculation, postulate, thesis,
surmise, assumption Definition 2. the body of principles underlying
an area or field. Example music theory. Synonyms doctrine (1),
science (3) Similar Words laws, school1, philosophy, principles
Definition 3. a speculative view or opinion. Example I have a theory
about his disappearance. Synonyms speculation (2), conjecture (2)
Crossref. Syn. supposition Similar Words guess, view, divination,
notion, belief, feeling, intuition Related Words aesthetic, abstract,
thought, doctrine, conclusion Wordsmyth 2002: unpaged)
Wordsmyth. 2002. The Wordsmyth Educational Dictionary-Thesaurus.
[WEDT]. Robert Parks, ed. Chicago: Wordsmyth Collaboratory. URL:
http://www.wordsmyth.net/. Date accessed: 2002 February 2.
--
def theory: theory Part of speech: noun Syllables: the-o-ry
Pronunciation: thi ri Inflections: theories Definition: 1. a proposed
explanation of something, usu. based on abstract reasoning: Synonyms:
hypothesis (1) Similar Words: assumption, supposition, thesis,
conjecture, speculation, surmise, postulate Example: the theory of
gravity. Definition: 2. the body of principles underlying an area or
field: Synonyms: doctrine (1), science (3) Similar Words: school1,
philosophy, principles, laws Example: music theory. Definition: 3. a
speculative view or opinion: Synonyms: conjecture (2), speculation
(2) Similar Words: intuition, divination, feeling, guess, notion,
view, belief Example: I have a theory about his disappearance.
(Wordsmyth 1999: unpaged)
Wordsmyth. 1999. Wordsmyth. The educational dictionary. Wordsmyth
collaboratory. Robert Parks, ed. ARTFL (Project for American and
French Research on the Treasury of the French Language). Chicago:
Divisions of the Humanities, University of Chicago. URL:
http://www.wordsmyth.net/. Date accessed: 1999 November 21.
--
def theory. the·o·ry [three, three ] (plural the·o·ries) noun 1.rules
and techniques:the body of rules, ideas, principles, and techniques
that applies to a particular subject, especially when seen as
distinct from actual practice economic theories
2.speculation:abstract thought or contemplation 3.idea formed by
speculation:an idea of or belief about something arrived at through
speculation or conjectureShe believed in the theory that you catch
more flies with honey than with vinegar. 4.hypothetical
circumstances: a set of circumstances or principles that is
hypothetical That's the theory, but it may not work out in practice.
5.scientific principle to explain phenomena:a set of facts,
propositions, or principles analyzed in their relation to one another
and used, especially in science, to explain phenomena [Late 16th
century. Via late Latin from Greek theria "contemplation, theory, "
from theros "spectator."] in theory under hypothetical or ideal
circumstances but perhaps not in reality. (Encarta 2000: unpaged.)
Encarta. 2000. Microsoft Encarta World English Dictionary. URL:
<http://dictionary.msn.com/>. Date Accessed: 2000 October 1.
--
def theory: theory: noun: a formal statement of the rules on which a
subject of study is based or of ideas which are suggested to explain
a fact or event or, more generally, an opinion or explanation
(Cambridge 1999: unpaged).
Cambridge. 1999. Cambridge dictionaries online. Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press. URL:
http://www.cup.cam.ac.uk/elt/dictionary/. Date accessed: 1999
November 21.
--
--
Ken Friedman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design
Department of Leadership and Organization
Norwegian School of Management
Visiting Professor
Advanced Research Institute
School of Art and Design
Staffordshire University
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