the anatomy of a theory
TRANSCRIPT
The Anatomy of a Theory
Building Blocks of Communication TheoriesPrepared by: Ms Jahwella Ocay, BA Comm
Central to the identity and the history of Communication are theories that define its scope and that cultivate insight into
human interaction.
ONTOLOGY
Determinism vs. Free Will: Do we just automatically respond to things or do we make choices about how to act?
THROWNNESS
Martin Heidegger advanced the idea that individual freedom is constrained by this. It refers to the fact that we are thrown into a
multitude of arbitrary conditions that influence our lives and our opportunities.
EPISTEMOLOGY
OBJECTIVISM vs. CREATING
MEANINGS – is reality
external to human mind or is it
subjective and based on a person’s
perceptions?
Some individuals believe that truth is an objective phenomenon that humans can discover through careful observation or other scientific methods. Other people think that reality is ultimately subjective and that what we know is intimately tied up with who we are.
PURPOSE OF THEORIZING
LAW-BASED vs. RULES-BASED – does a theory want to establish laws that will remain true across a variety of circumstances or rules that will explain and describe
patterns of behavior
FOCUS OF THEORIZING
BEHAVIORISM vs. HUMANISM
– is it focusing on observable behavior
or on meanings?
Brute Facts (objective, concrete
phenomena)
Institutional Facts
(what an observable
phenomenon means)