Summary
Contents
Reader's guide
Entries A-Z
Subject index
Theories are part and parcel of just about every human activity that involves knowing about the world and our place in it. In all areas of inquiry from the most mundane to the most esoteric and sophisticated, theorizing plays a fundamental role. What is true of our everyday existence is even more pervasive in more scholarly fields. How is thinking about the subject organized? What methods are used in moving a neophyte in a given subject matter into the position of a competent student of that subject? What, in short, is the prime repository and vehicle for the knowledge that has been acquired in any discipline over the course of its development? The answer is the theories that are used, produced, and promulgated by the practitioners of those disciplines. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory is a landmark work serving as something of a capstone to 10 prior SAGE encyclopedias that examined theory in specific social science disciplines (psychology, sociology, education, political science, etc.). Within the pages of this more general work, readers will learn about the complex decisions that are made when framing theory, what goes into constructing a powerful theory, why some theories change or fail, how theories reflect socio-historical moments in time and how - at their best - they form the foundations for exploring and unlocking the mysteries of the world around us. Key features include: Over 300 signed articles written by key figures across the social sciences spread across four comprehensive volumes Further Readings and Cross References conclude each article aiding readers further in their research A Reader's Guide organizes entries by broad themes. A Resource Guide takes readers to the next step in their research journeys by listing classic books in the field, key journals, associations, and websites.
- General Theory of Science
- Abduction
- Abstract Knowledge
- Abstraction
- Accuracy
- Ad Hoc Hypothesis
- Analysis
- Authority
- Belief Revision
- Church–Turing Thesis
- Communication Theory, Technical Overview
- Completeness
- Concept
- Conceptual Analysis
- Conceptual Blending
- Consilience
- Epistemology
- Evidence
- Experiment, Theory of
- Explanation
- Fact Versus Theory
- Falsifiability
- Formal Sciences
- Generalization
- Hypothesis Testing
- Hypothetico-Deductivism
- Induction
- Inference
- Inference to the Best Explanation
- Inferentialism
- Instrumentalism
- Interpretation
- Intuition
- Justification
- Knowledge
- Mental Models
- Metaphysics
- Metatheory
- Modeling
- Paraconsistency
- Paradigm
- Paradoxes
- Phenomenalism
- Philosophy of Mind
- Philosophy of Science
- Physical Theory
- Pragmatism
- Prediction
- Pseudoscience
- Rationality
- Realism in Mathematics
- Reasoning
- Scientific Realism
- Scientific Revolutions
- Social Construction of Scientific Knowledge
- Speculation
- Statistics
- Taxonomy
- Theory Change
- Thought Experiments, Scientific and Philosophical
- Truth
- Understanding
- Values in Science
- Nature and Structure of Theories
- Axiom Schema
- Axiomatic Theory
- Data Models
- Framework
- Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems
- Geometry, Classical
- Geometry, Non-Euclidean
- Instrumentalism
- Intuitionism in Logic and Mathematics
- Laws of Nature
- Laws, Scientific
- Linguistic Frameworks
- Modeling
- Paradigm
- Philosophy of Science
- Rational Mechanics
- Received View of Theories
- Relative Consistency
- Set Theory
- Theories, Semantic Conception of
- Theories, Syntactic Conception of
- Theory Construction
- Theory Structure
- Formal Disciplines
- Computer Science
- Artificial Intelligence
- Big Data
- Bioinformatics
- Biostatistics
- Church–Turing Thesis
- Complex Systems
- Cybernetics, 20th Century
- Informatics
- Information Theory
- Information Theory, Historical Background
- Software Engineering
- Statistical Inference, Bayesian
- Statistical Inference, Frequentist
- Statistics
- Statistics, Completeness in
- Systems Science
- Logic and Mathematics
- Abduction
- Abstraction
- Analysis
- Axiom Schema
- Axiomatic Theory
- Category Theory
- Church–Turing Thesis
- Communication Theory, Technical Overview
- Concept
- Cybernetics, 20th Century
- Deduction
- Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems
- Generalization
- Geometry, Classical
- Geometry, Non-Euclidean
- Induction
- Inference
- Intuitionism in Logic and Mathematics
- Justification
- Knowledge
- Linguistics, Contemporary
- Linguistics, Historical
- Logic and Language
- Logic, Formal and Informal
- Logic, Inductive
- Logical Theory
- Mathematics, 19th Century
- Mathematics, 20th Century
- Mathematics, Antiquity
- Mathematics, Enlightenment
- Mathematics, Middle Ages
- Mathematics, Renaissance
- Paraconsistency
- Paradoxes
- Perturbation Theory
- Rational Mechanics
- Realism in Mathematics
- Reasoning
- Refutation
- Relative Consistency
- Semantics (Introduction to Theory)
- Semantics (Scientific and Empirical)
- Set Theory
- Soundness
- Statistics
- Syntax (Introduction to Theory)
- Syntax (Scientific and Empirical)
- Understanding
- Empirical Disciplines
- Biological Science
- Biochemistry, 19th Century
- Biochemistry, 20th Century
- Biochemistry, Contemporary
- Bioinformatics
- Biology, Evolutionary
- Biophysics, 19th Century
- Biophysics, 20th Century
- Biophysics, Contemporary
- Biostatistics
- Cell Theory
- Complementary Medicine
- Developmental Systems Theory
- Environmental Studies
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Game Theory
- Genetic Drift
- Germ Theory
- Health Care Science
- Infectious Disease Studies
- Life Sciences, Contemporary
- Medicine, 19th Century
- Medicine, 20th Century
- Medicine, Antiquity
- Medicine, Contemporary
- Medicine, Enlightenment
- Medicine, Middle Ages
- Medicine, Renaissance
- Natural Selection
- Neuroscience
- Punctuated Equilibrium
- Vitalism
- Chemistry
- Cognitive Sciences
- Artificial Intelligence
- Belief Revision
- Big Data
- Biopsychosocial Model
- Cognitive Science
- Conceptual Blending
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Linguistic Frameworks
- Linguistics, Contemporary
- Linguistics, Historical
- Mental Models
- Neuroscience
- Philosophy of Mind
- Semantics (Introduction to Theory)
- Semantics (Scientific and Empirical)
- Syntax (Introduction to Theory)
- Syntax (Scientific and Empirical)
- Earth and Space Sciences
- Engineering
- Physics
- Biophysics, 19th Century
- Biophysics, 20th Century
- Biophysics, Contemporary
- Complex Systems
- Cosmology
- Environmental Studies
- Geophysics
- Information Theory
- Kinetic (Molecular) Theory
- Physical Theory
- Physics, 19th Century
- Physics, 20th Century
- Physics, Antiquity
- Physics, Contemporary
- Physics, Enlightenment
- Physics, Gravitational Theory
- Physics, Middle Ages
- Physics, Quantum Theory
- Physics, Renaissance
- Physics, Solid-State
- Physics, Thermodynamics
- Plate Tectonics
- Rational Mechanics
- Systems Science
- Technology
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