Dear Terry,
No, this is not the case. I define theory carefully in the paper cited earlier.
You can read it at:
http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/41967
You can also read the article in Design Studies:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0142-694X(03)00039-5
For other views supporting this interpretation, try the Oxford English
Dictionary or the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Mario
Bunge offers a good definition and explains some of the confusions
on the nature of theory in The Dictionary of Philosophy published
by Prometheus books.
A theory is an explanation that shows the operation of a system
with respect to all its parts and the dynamic relation of those parts
to one another. This is why I describe a theory as a model. A
model has working parts. In contrast, a theorem is a single,
provable proposition ... Some theories may contain dozens, or
even hundreds of theorems within the totality of the theory,
along with axiomatic statements, hypotheses, or other kinds of
statement used to describe the entire theory. Some theories,
on the other hand, may be quite small. But theories and theorems
are different in nature. I suspect that one may describe some
kinds of theorems using the word, "model," but a theory is a
model of a full system describing the dynamic relations of all
parts of the system to all other parts of the system.
The linked articles define and describe this.
Hope this helps.
Warm wishes,
Ken
On Wed, 19 Dec 2012 11:10:08 +0800, Terence Love <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
><snip>A theory is essentially a model.
>
>Strictly, isn't it 'theorem's that are the models? In contrast, a 'theory'
>is the analysis or body of analysis.
Sent from my iPad
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design
Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|