In philosophy, theory (from ancient Greek theoria Theoria is Greek for contemplation (literally, to view or witness something as a spectator). Within Eastern Orthodox theology it refers to a stage of illumination on the path to theosis. It is obtained by means of contemplative prayer resulting from the cultivation of watchfulness (Gk: nepsis) achieved by the pure of heart who are no longer, θεωρία, meaning "a looking at, viewing, beholding") refers to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action.^[1] Theory is especially often contrasted to "practice" (Greek praxis, πρᾶξις) a concept that in its original Aristotelian Aristotelianism is a tradition of philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. The works of Aristotle were initially defended by the members of the Peripatetic school, and, later on, by the Neoplatonists who produced many commentaries on Aristotle's writings. In the Islamic world, the works of Aristotle were context referred to actions done for their own sake, but can also refer to "technical" actions instrumental to some other aim, such as the making of tools or houses. "Theoria Theoria is Greek for contemplation (literally, to view or witness something as a spectator). Within Eastern Orthodox theology it refers to a stage of illumination on the path to theosis. It is obtained by means of contemplative prayer resulting from the cultivation of watchfulness (Gk: nepsis) achieved by the pure of heart who are no longer" is also a word still used in theological contexts.

A classical example uses the discipline of medicine Medicine is the science and art of healing humans. It includes a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Before scientific medicine, healing arts were practiced along with alchemical and ritual practices that developed out of religious and cultural traditions. The term & to explain the distinction: Medical theory and theorizing involves trying to understand the causes Causality is the relationship between an event and a second event (the effect), where the second event is a consequence of the first and nature Nature is a word used in two major sets of ways, which are inter-connected in a complex way, for reasons related to the history of science, epistemology and metaphysics, particularly in Western Civilization of health At the time of the creation of the World Health Organization , in 1948, health was defined as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" and sickness, while the practical side of medicine is trying to make people healthy At the time of the creation of the World Health Organization , in 1948, health was defined as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". These two things are related but can be independent, because it is possible to research health and sickness without curing specific patients, and it is possible to cure a patient without knowing how the cure worked.^[2]

The verb θεωρία apparently developed special uses early in the Greek language Greek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical ancient Greek literature and the New Testament of. In the book, From Religion to Philosophy, Francis Cornford Francis Macdonald Cornford was an English classical scholar and poet suggests that the Orphics Orphism (Ancient Greek, "Ορφικά") is the name given to a set of religious beliefs and practices in the ancient Greek and the Hellenistic world, associated with literature ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus, who descended into Hades and returned. Orphics also revered Persephone (who annually descended into Hades for a season and used the word "theory" to mean 'passionate sympathetic contemplation' ^[3]. Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of our information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, thus very little reliable information is known about him. He was born on the island of Samos, and may have travelled widely in his youth, visiting Egypt changed the word to mean a passionate sympathetic contemplation of mathematical and scientific knowledge. This was because Pythagoras considered such intellectual pursuits the way to reach the highest plane of existence. Pythagoras stressed on killing the emotions and the lusts of the body and the release of the intellect to soar into the exalted domain of theory. Thus it was Pythagoras who gave the word "theory" the specific meaning which leads to the classical and modern concept of a distinction between theory as uninvolved, neutral thinking, and practice.^[4]

While theories in the arts The arts is a broad subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. It is a broader term than "art," which as a description of a field usually means only the visual arts. The arts encompasses visual arts, literature and the performing arts - music, drama, dance and film, among others. This list is by no means and philosophy Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. It is distinguished from other ways of addressing fundamental questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. The word "philosophy" comes from the may address ideas and not easily observable empirical phenomena, in modern science Science is a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world, produced by researchers making use of scientific methods, which emphasize the observation, explanation, and prediction of real world phenomena by experiment. Given the dual status of science as objective knowledge and as a human construct, good the term "theory", or "scientific theory" is generally understood to refer to a proposed explanation An explanation is a set of statements constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies the causes, context, and consequences of those facts of empirical The word empirical denotes information gained by means of observation, experience, or experiment. A central concept in science and the scientific method is that all evidence must be empirical, or empirically based, that is, dependent on evidence or consequences that are observable by the senses. It is usually differentiated from the philosophic phenomena, made in a way consistent with the scientific method Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable, empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning. A scientific method consists of. Such theories are preferably described in such a way that any scientist in the field is in a position to understand, verify, and challenge (or "falsify") it. In this modern scientific context the distinction between theory and practice corresponds roughly to the distinction between theoretical science Science is, in its broadest sense, any systematic knowledge that is capable of resulting in a correct prediction or reliable outcome. In this sense, science may refer to a highly skilled technique, technology, or practice and technology Technology is the usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization. The word technology comes from the Greek technología — téchnē (τέχνη), an 'art', 'skill' or 'craft' and -logía (-λογία), the study of something, or the branch of knowledge of a discipline. The term can either be applied generally or applied science Fields of engineering are closely related to applied sciences. Applied science is important for technology development. Its use in industrial settings is usually referred to as research and development.

Theories formally and generally

Theories are analytical Analysis is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle, though analysis as a formal concept is a relatively recent development tools for understanding Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to think about it and use concepts to deal adequately with that object, explaining An explanation is a set of statements constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies the causes, context, and consequences of those facts, and making predictions A prediction or forecast is a statement about the way things will happen in the future, often but not always based on experience or knowledge. While there is much overlap between prediction and forecast, a prediction may be a statement that some outcome is expected, while a forecast may cover a range of possible outcomes about a given subject matter. There are theories in many and varied fields of study, including the arts Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging symbolic elements in a way that influences and affects the senses, emotions, and/or intellect. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, photography, sculpture, and paintings. The meaning of art is explored in a and sciences Science is, in its broadest sense, any systematic knowledge that is capable of resulting in a correct prediction or reliable outcome. In this sense, science may refer to a highly skilled technique, technology, or practice. A formal theory is syntactic In logic, syntax is anything having to do with formal languages or formal systems without regard to any interpretation or meaning given to them. Syntax is concerned with the rules used for constructing, or transforming the symbols and words of a language, as contrasted with the semantics of a language which is concerned with its meaning in nature and is only meaningful when given a semantic Semantics is the study of meaning. It typically focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for component by applying it to some content (i.e. facts The word fact can refer to verified information about past or present circumstances or events which are presented as objective reality. In science, it means a provable concept. and relationships of the actual historical world as it is unfolding). Theories in various fields of study are expressed in natural language In the philosophy of language, a natural language is any language which arises in an unpremeditated fashion as the result of the innate facility for language possessed by the human intellect. A natural language is typically used for communication, and may be spoken, signed, or written. Natural language is distinguished from constructed languages, but are always constructed in such a way that their general form is identical to a theory as it is expressed in the formal language A formal language is a set of words, i.e. finite strings of letters, symbols, or tokens. The set from which these letters are taken is called the alphabet over which the language is defined. A formal language is often defined by means of a formal grammar ; accordingly, words that belong to a formal language are sometimes called well-formed words ( of mathematical logic Mathematical logic is a subfield of mathematics with close connections to computer science and philosophical logic. The field includes both the mathematical study of logic and the applications of formal logic to other areas of mathematics. The unifying themes in mathematical logic include the study of the expressive power of formal systems and the. Theories may be expressed mathematically, symbolically, or in common language, but are generally expected to follow principles of rational thought Reason is a mental faculty found in humans, that is able to generate conclusions from assumptions or premises. In other words, it is amongst other things the means by which rational beings propose reasons, or explanations of cause and effect. In contrast to reason as an abstract noun, a reason is a consideration which explains or justifies or logic Logic is the study of arguments. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. Logic examines general forms which arguments may take, which forms are valid, and which are fallacies. It is one kind of critical thinking. In philosophy, the study of logic.

Theory is constructed of a set of sentences In the field of linguistics, a sentence is an expression in natural language, often defined to indicate a grammatical and lexical unit consisting of one or more words that represent distinct concepts. A sentence can include words grouped meaningfully to express a statement, question, exclamation, request or command which consist entirely of true statements about the subject matter under consideration. However, the truth of any one of these statements is always relative to the whole theory. Therefore the same statement may be true with respect to one theory, and not true with respect to another. This is, in ordinary language, where statements such as "He is a terrible person" cannot be judged to be true or false without reference to some interpretation An interpretation is an assignment of meaning to the symbols of a language. Many formal languages used in mathematics, logic, and theoretical computer science are defined in solely syntactic terms, and as such do not have any meaning until they are given some interpretation. The general study of interpretations of formal languages is called formal of who "He" is and for that matter what a "terrible person" is under the theory. ^[5]

Sometimes two theories have exactly the same explanatory power One theory is said to have more explanatory power than another theory about the same subject matter if it can predict and otherwise account for all the facts that the second one does, but also explains the causes of other facts which the second one does not. The opposite of explanatory power is explanatory impotence because they make the same predictions. A pair of such theories is called indistinguishable, and the choice between them reduces to convenience or philosophical preference.

The form of theories is studied formally in mathematical logic Mathematical logic is a subfield of mathematics with close connections to computer science and philosophical logic. The field includes both the mathematical study of logic and the applications of formal logic to other areas of mathematics. The unifying themes in mathematical logic include the study of the expressive power of formal systems and the, especially in model theory In mathematics, model theory is the study of mathematical structures such as groups, fields, graphs, or even universes of set theory, using tools from mathematical logic. A structure that gives meaning to the sentences of a formal language is called a model for the language. If a model for a language moreover satisfies a particular sentence or. When theories are studied in mathematics, they are usually expressed in some formal language A formal language is a set of words, i.e. finite strings of letters, symbols, or tokens. The set from which these letters are taken is called the alphabet over which the language is defined. A formal language is often defined by means of a formal grammar ; accordingly, words that belong to a formal language are sometimes called well-formed words ( and their statements are closed In mathematics, a set is said to be closed under some operation if performance of that operation on members of the set always produces a member of the set. For example, the real numbers are closed under subtraction, but the natural numbers are not: 3 and 7 are both natural numbers, but the result of 3 − 7 is not under application of certain procedures called rules of inference In logic, a transformation rule is a syntactic rule used in a formal system which may be interpreted as a valid rule of inference for constructing true propositions. Rules of inference, along with any axioms or axiom schemata it uses to derive valid formulas, comprise the deductive system of the formal system. A special case of this, an axiomatic theory, consists of axioms In traditional logic, an axiom or postulate is a proposition that is not proved or demonstrated but considered to be either self-evident, or subject to necessary decision. Therefore, its truth is taken for granted, and serves as a starting point for deducing and inferring other truths (or axiom schemata) and rules of inference. A theorem In mathematics, a theorem is a statement which has been proven on the basis of previously established statements, such as other theorems, and previously accepted statements, such as axioms. The derivation of a theorem is often interpreted as a proof of the truth of the resulting expression, but different deductive systems can yield other is a statement that can be derived from those axioms by application of these rules of inference. Theories used in applications are abstractions Abstraction is a conceptual process by which higher, more abstract concepts are derived from the usage and classification of literal concepts. An "abstraction" (noun) is a concept that acts as super-categorical noun for all subordinate concepts, and connects any related concepts as a group, field, or category of observed phenomena and the resulting theorems provide solutions to real-world problems. Obvious examples include arithmetic Arithmetic or arithmetics is the oldest and most elementary branch of mathematics, used by almost everyone, for tasks ranging from simple day-to-day counting to advanced science and business calculations. It involves the study of quantity, especially as the result of combining numbers. In common usage, it refers to the simpler properties when (abstracting concepts of number), geometry Geometry "Earth-measuring" is a part of mathematics concerned with questions of size, shape, relative position of figures, and the properties of space. Geometry is one of the oldest sciences. Initially a body of practical knowledge concerning lengths, areas, and volumes, in the 3rd century BC geometry was put into an axiomatic form by (concepts of space), and probability Probability is a way of expressing knowledge or belief that an event will occur or has occurred. The concept has been given an exact mathematical meaning in probability theory, which is used extensively in such areas of study as mathematics, statistics, finance, gambling, science, and philosophy to draw conclusions about the likelihood of (concepts of randomness and likelihood).

Gödel's incompleteness theorem shows that no consistent, recursively enumerable theory (that is, one whose theorems form a recursively enumerable set) in which the concept of natural numbers can be expressed, can include all true statements about them. As a result, some domains of knowledge cannot be formalized, accurately and completely, as mathematical theories. (Here, formalizing accurately and completely means that all true propositions—and only true propositions—are derivable within the mathematical system.) This limitation, however, in no way precludes the construction of mathematical theories that formalize large bodies of scientific knowledge.

Underdetermination

A theory is underdetermined (also called indeterminacy of data to theory) if, given the available evidence cited to support the theory, there is a rival theory which is inconsistent with it that is at least as consistent with the evidence. Underdetermination is an epistemological issue about the relation of evidence to conclusions.

Intertheoretic reduction and elimination

If there is a new theory which is better at explaining and predicting phenomena than an older theory (i.e. it has more explanatory power), we are justified in believing that the newer theory describes reality more correctly. This is called an intertheoretic reduction because the terms of the old theory can be reduced to the terms of the new one. For instance, our historical understanding about "sound," "light" and "heat" have today been reduced to "wave compressions and rarefactions," "electromagnetic waves," and "molecular kinetic energy," respectively. These terms which are identified with each other are called intertheoretic identities. When an old theory and a new one are parallel in this way, we can conclude that we are describing the same reality, only more completely.

In cases where a new theory uses new terms which do not reduce to terms of an older one, but rather replace them entirely because they are actually a misrepresentation it is called an intertheoretic elimination. For instance, the obsolete scientific theory that put forward an understanding of heat transfer in terms of the movement of caloric fluid was eliminated when a theory of heat as energy replaced it. Also, the theory that phlogiston is a substance released from burning and rusting material was eliminated with the new understanding of the reactivity of oxygen.

Theories vs. theorems

Theories are distinct from theorems: theorems are derived deductively from theories according to a formal system of rules, generally as a first step in testing or applying the theory in a concrete situation. Theories are abstract and conceptual, and to this end they are never considered right or wrong. Instead, they are supported or challenged by observations in the world. They are 'rigorously tentative', meaning that they are proposed as true but expected to satisfy careful examination to account for the possibility of faulty inference or incorrect observation. Sometimes theories are falsified, meaning that an explicit set of observations contradicts some fundamental assumption of the theory, but more often theories are revised to conform to new observations, by restricting the class of phenomena the theory applies to or changing the assertions made. Sometimes a theory is set aside by scholars because there is no way to examine its assertions analytically; these may continue on in the popular imagination until some means of examination is found which either refutes or lends credence to the theory.

Philosophical theories

Theories whose subject matter consists not in empirical data, but rather in ideas are in the realm of philosophical theories as contrasted with scientific theories. At least some of the elementary theorems of a philosophical theory are statements whose truth cannot necessarily be scientifically tested through empirical observation.

Fields of study are sometimes named "theory" because their basis is some initial set of assumptions describing the field's approach to a subject matter. These assumptions are the elementary theorems of the particular theory, and can be thought of as the axioms of that field. Some commonly known examples include set theory, game theory, and number theory; however literary theory, critical theory, and music theory are also of the same form.

Metatheory

One form of philosophical theory is a metatheory or meta-theory. A metatheory is a theory whose subject matter is some other theory. In other words it is a theory about a theory. Statements made in the metatheory about the theory are called metatheorems.

Political theories

A political theory is an ethical theory about the law and government. Often the term "political theory" refers to a general view, or specific ethic, political belief or attitude, about politics.

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