Swedberg Richard
Department of Sociology, Cornell University.
Br J Sociol. 2016 Mar;67(1):5-22. doi: 10.1111/1468-4446.12184. Epub 2016 Feb 22.
The basic argument in this article is that sociology and social science more generally are today severely hampered by the lack of attention being paid to theory. Methods--qualitative as well as quantitative methods--have proven to be very useful in practical research (as opposed to theory); and as a result they dominate modern social science. They do not, however, do the job that belongs to theory. One way to redress the current imbalance between methods and theory, it is suggested, would be to pay more attention to theorizing, that is, to the actual process that precedes the final formulation of a theory; and in this way improve theory. Students of social science are today primarily exposed to finished theories and are not aware of the process that goes into the production and design of a theory. Students need to be taught how to construct a theory in practical terms ('theorizing'); and one good way to do so is through exercises. This is the way that methods are being taught by tradition; and it helps the students to get a hands-on knowledge, as opposed to just a reading knowledge of what a theory is all about. Students more generally need to learn how to construct a theory while drawing on empirical material. The article contains a suggestion for the steps that need to be taken when you theorize. Being trained in what sociology and social science are all about--an important precondition!--students may proceed as follows. You start out by observing, in an attempt to get a good empirical grip on the topic before any theory is introduced. Once this has been done, it may be time to name the phenomenon; and either turn the name into a concept as the next step or bring in some existing concepts in an attempt to get a handle on the topic. At this stage one can also try to make use of analogies, metaphors and perhaps a typology, in an attempt to both give body to the theory and to invest it with some process. The last element in theorizing is to come up with an explanation; and at this point it may be helpful to draw on some ideas by Charles Peirce, especially his notion of abduction. Before having been properly tested against empirical material, according to the rules of the scientific community, the theory should be considered unproven. Students who are interested in learning more about theorizing may want to consult the works of such people as Everett C. Hughes, C. Wright Mills, Ludwig Wittgenstein and James G. March. Many of the issues that are central to theorizing are today also being studied in cognitive science; and for those who are interested in pursuing this type of literature, handbooks represent a good starting point. The article ends by arguing that more theorizing will not only redress the balance between theory and methods; it will also make sociology and social science more interesting.
本文的基本观点是，社会学乃至更广义的社会科学如今正因对理论缺乏关注而受到严重阻碍。事实证明，方法——包括定性方法和定量方法——在实际研究（与理论相对）中非常有用；因此它们主导着现代社会科学。然而，它们并不能完成理论所应承担的任务。有人认为，纠正当前方法与理论之间失衡的一种方法是更加关注理论化，也就是说，关注理论最终形成之前的实际过程；并以此来改进理论。如今社会科学专业的学生主要接触的是现成的理论，并不了解理论产生和设计的过程。需要教导学生如何从实际角度构建理论（“理论化”）；而一种很好的方法就是通过练习。传统上教授方法就是这样做的；这有助于学生获得实践知识，而不仅仅是对理论内容的书本知识。更普遍地说，学生需要学习如何在借鉴实证材料的同时构建理论。本文针对理论化时需要采取的步骤提出了一项建议。在接受关于社会学和社会科学究竟是什么的训练——这是一个重要的前提条件！——之后，学生可以按以下步骤进行。首先进行观察，试图在引入任何理论之前对该主题有一个良好的实证把握。一旦完成这一步，可能就到了给该现象命名的时候了；然后要么将这个名称转化为一个概念作为下一步，要么引入一些现有的概念来尝试理解该主题。在这个阶段，还可以尝试运用类比、隐喻，或许还有一种类型学，试图使理论有血有肉，并赋予它一些过程。理论化的最后一个要素是给出一个解释；在这一点上，借鉴查尔斯·皮尔斯的一些观点，尤其是他的溯因概念，可能会有所帮助。在按照科学界的规则根据实证材料进行适当检验之前，该理论应被视为未经证实的。对学习更多理论化知识感兴趣的学生可能想参考埃弗雷特·C·休斯、C·赖特·米尔斯、路德维希·维特根斯坦和詹姆斯·G·马奇等人的著作。如今认知科学也在研究许多理论化核心的问题；对于那些有兴趣研读这类文献的人来说，手册是一个很好的起点。文章最后指出，更多的理论化不仅会纠正理论与方法之间的平衡；还会使社会学和社会科学更具趣味性。
