Theme 3: Research and theory - Comments

1.
Hi,I like your discussion on truth and that you connect it with what we have learnt earlier in the course. I think that you have given an interesting perspective on how we develop theories by comparing this to the earlier discussions on how we develop knowledge.To add to your discussion on having old theories and making new once, there is also the situations where the new theories replaces the old ones, which the term “paradigm shift” refers to.

2.
Hi,I think that your reflection was very interesting to read. We also discussed if there are any “absolute truths” during the seminar I attended. I feel like my thoughts on it are similar to what you have written. We will never be absolutely sure that we have found a theory that is true. In other words even if we were to develop a theory that is true we will not have a way of being absolutely certain of it being so. Furthermore I was intrigued by your discussion on that there are no theories that are not built upon other theories. It made me think: “what theory was the first theory that humans developed?”Interesting discussions and interesting read!

3.
Hi,I found your post interesting in terms of understanding difference in the term theory itself. I think that your discussion on which concept of theory, philosophical theory or scientific theory, is the more objective one is really interesting. I think that it all depends on what one means by “objective”. If objective would mean that the theory should not be able to be further developed or questioned I do not think that either concept of theory could live up to that.Interesting discussion with interesting perspectives!

4.
Hi,I like that you have taken what was said during the lecture and compared it to what you found during your discussions at the seminar. The discussion you had during the seminar on snow on trees reminded me of a discussion of perception knowledge that was held during another seminar that I attended. There it was said that “a table is considered being a table because enough people are willing to except the concept of the object being a table”. We were discussing why perception in some cases were considered knowledge. I think that both theories and knowledge have in common that they require for people to accept them in order to be considered more or less true.Interesting summary and reflection of what you discussed!

5.
Hi,I think that your reflection is well structured and you also present your thoughts well. Interesting discussion on the contradiction between the two authors. At first I interpreted Suttan and Staw to mean that one has to explain or motivate why the diagrams or figures are relevant for the theory and not only present them, which would mean that their statement not necessarily contradicts Gregor’s statement.During my seminar we discussed the reason behind the question “What is man?” and we also asked Ilias. His thought was that it was a way of giving us the experience of how a theory is formed, in this case a theory about what man is.