Hi All,
thank you very much. The theory definition is quite complex as well and it helps to approach the testing situation, since it gives insight, but it also distorts. Morgan indicates that when he says that any theory is incomplete, biased and potential misleading. Metaphor is as well paradoxical, since it can create powerful insights that becomes as well distortions. We can see through metaphor, but it becomes as well a way of not seeing.
(Morgan G, Images of Organizations, Sage Publications, 2006)
If we speak about theory and models, it might as well be helpful to speak about metaphors as Snodgrass and Coyne pointed out:
‚Logic-based metaphors are scientific models, such as the atomic language model, which describe the design process in terms of a logically consistent and coherent set of relationships drawn from a scientific or mathematical theory.‘
And:
A hermeneutical metaphor, by contrast, is one which is broad and flexible enough to give an account of the design process both as a whole and as a complex of interacting parts. For example, the metaphor of the hermeneutical circle, which sees the design process as a dialogical exchange between the designer and the design situation, has enough conceptual tolerance to preserve the wholeness of what it models, even as it describes the functioning of the parts. In summary, although the logic-based metaphor might be appropriate within the context of research, where its narrow focus and clear definition act as pointers to guide research activities, it is not appropriate when it is taken as a model of designing as a whole. The power of the logic-based metaphor inheres within its ability to concentrate on some specified and clearly defined characteristics of designing, and to structure these characteristics for research purposes. The power of the hermeneutical metaphor lies in the range and diversity of its possible interpretations, thus allowing an understanding of the design process as it changes from situation to situation.
(Models, Metaphors and the Hermeneutics of Designing,
Adrian Snodgrass; Richard Coyne
Design Issues, Vol. 9, No. 1. (Autumn, 1992), pp. 56-74.)
So, how does this help me to clarify the testing setup?
From a very narrow definition point it is clear to me that a theory is not a metaphor is not a model, but to have a better grasp on theory we use metaphors like 'model' or even 'system' to provide 'insight'.
I have read a lot of definitions from many of the contributors of this thread about design theory which helped a lot, but the testing is still not clear for me at all.
So, lets ask further, are there some theories which can't be tested, since a testing would bias the 'situation' you modeled?
Thank you
Jurgen
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