[Xmca-l] Re: Fwd: [Методология и история психологии] Uploaded What theory is not.pdf

[mike cole]

Hi David--

The reason I passed this paper along is that the following passage from the
abstract attracted me and the examples given of the confusions about theory
in the text resonated with a lot of writing I have encountered not only in
submitted articles, but in graduate student writings up to and including
dissertations.

I agree with the fictional consensus the authors identify.
consensus that references, data, variables, diagrams, and hypotheses are not
theory. Despite this consensus, however, authors routinely use these five
elements in lieu of theory.

I was not advocating their notion of good theory. That is a separate and
very important issue and you know full well that I take Dilthey seriously
-- as Luria and Vygotsky, in their ways, taught me to do.

If there is interest in the group, we could use the article to take our
discussion that direction. Seems worthwhile to me.

But, I think we have to acknowledge that the same way the authors find
sloppy reasoning about theory is to be found routinely in articles and
essays by ourselves and our students.

So, I guess, I think the paper if useful for there critique of writing
practices summed up as what is not a theory (given their version of a
causal social science). If it provokes us to understand better what sorts
of claims we want to make in the articles we write, and how to be clearer
to ourselves, I am for it.
mike



On Sun, Jun 15, 2014 at 1:31 AM, David Kellogg <dkellogg60@gmail.com> wrote:

> Mike:
>
> This article struck me as theoretically naive. First of all, the whole
> idea of articles without theory is a little silly, particularly for anybody
> who has taken Chapter Two of Thinking and Speech and Vygotsky's critique of
> Piaget's atheoretism on board. Secondly, the idea that "why" questions and
> a focus on causality is a hallmark of theory essentially writes off the
> whole of Dilthey, descriptivism, structuralism and post-structuralism. You
> might not agree with this line of thought and body of work, but to deny it
> status as theory seems pointless.
>
> I must admit, though, the whole genre of editors and reviewers
> who repackage as articles their complaints about having to review articles
> by professors who are desperate to publish is rather puzzling to me. There
> are plenty of other channels for this sort of thing, e.g. reviews, pub
> discussions, and even xmca. But perhaps they too  are desperate to publish.
> Or am I being compulsively cynical?
>
> David Kellogg
> Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
>
>
>
>
> On 15 June 2014 02:13, mike cole <lchcmike@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I recommend this paper on what theory is not. It touches on a number of
>> issues that we encounter a good deal in reviewing manuscripts sent to MCA.
>> I am forwarding from
>> Ilya Garber's discussion group with thanks to Ilya for posting.
>> mike
>>
>>
>>   Ilya Garber posted in Методология и история психологии
>> <
>> https://www.facebook.com/n/?groups%2F505367082848886%2F776439485741643%2F&aref=354957658&medium=email&mid=a067d84G3212ac93G1528395aG96Gba24&bcode=1.1402765399.AblhaHTp27u9ny_P&n_m=lchcmike%40gmail.com
>> >
>> [image: Ilya Garber]
>> <
>> https://www.facebook.com/n/?profile.php&id=1202221848&aref=354957658&medium=email&mid=a067d84G3212ac93G1528395aG96Gba24&bcode=1.1402765399.AblhaHTp27u9ny_P&n_m=lchcmike%40gmail.com
>> >
>> Ilya
>> Garber
>> <
>> https://www.facebook.com/n/?profile.php&id=1202221848&aref=354957658&medium=email&mid=a067d84G3212ac93G1528395aG96Gba24&bcode=1.1402765399.AblhaHTp27u9ny_P&n_m=lchcmike%40gmail.com
>> >
>> 10:02am
>> Jun 14
>> Практически в каждой журнальной статье по психологии есть теоретический
>> раздел. Два опытных и умных редактора объяснили, что не является теорией.
>> Must read.
>> What theory is not.pdf
>> <
>> https://www.facebook.com/download/682318241852537/What%20theory%20is%20not.pdf
>> >
>>
>> View Post on Facebook
>> <
>> https://www.facebook.com/n/?groups%2F505367082848886%2F776439485741643%2F&aref=354957658&medium=email&mid=a067d84G3212ac93G1528395aG96Gba24&bcode=1.1402765399.AblhaHTp27u9ny_P&n_m=lchcmike%40gmail.com
>> >
>> · Edit Email Settings
>> <
>> https://www.facebook.com/n/?settings&tab=notifications&section=group_notification&aref=354957658&medium=email&mid=a067d84G3212ac93G1528395aG96Gba24&bcode=1.1402765399.AblhaHTp27u9ny_P&n_m=lchcmike%40gmail.com
>> >
>> · Reply to this email to add a comment.
>>
>
>