Yes, I'll admit that theory is useful for grad students as it helps them to do structured thinking within their newly adopted disciplines. However, some disciplines like Sociology do not have an over-arching theory that teaches budding sociologists how to think like a sociologist (i.e., to develop the critical eye of a sociologist). Indeed when Talcott Parsons tried to develop one ("Structuralism") several Sociology students took out a contract on his life. Fortunately, assassination became unnecessary because Structuralism died an unceremonious death of its own volition.
In this Book Review, I criticize the authors for using political theory to evaluate the legitimacy of applying the term "citizenship" to corporations. In fact, after spending the first half of the book mounting arguments to explain why it is inappropriate to apply the citizenship concept (as developed under political theory) to corporations, the authors spend the remainder of the book rehabilitating the use of citizenship concepts to delineate the responsibilities of corporations to the greater society (i.e., to describe CSR). The irony is that it becomes increasingly clear in the second half of the book that political theory (and its definition of citizenship) was only raised as a red herring in the book's first half as it is completely void of probative value in terms of exploring whether corporations can be good citizens. Have we become slaves to theory, rather than using theory as a tool to gain insight?
Article Book Review: Corporations and Citizenship
As always, it depends on what kind of theory we are talking about. Political theory is normative in its foundation and concerns questions of legitimacy, fairness, justice and so on. Other kind of theories concerns empirical issues and causality. May i recommend a very good and recent article by Stefano Guzzini that discusses four different kinds of theories "the end of IR theory: Stages of reflexivity and modes of theorizing" published in European Journal of International Relations.
Personally i am of the opinion that there is no such thing as 'reality' that we have access to without using and utilizing our understandings of this reality. so we are, with no alternative slaves to theory/understandings
Tack så mycket, Oscar! Jag kommer att läsa artikeln du rekommenderat. Gwen
What about Kurt Lewin's point that there is nothing so practical than a good theory? I can't comment as a sociologist, but from, say, a management theory perspective (ok, I acknowledge that some claim there is no 'management theory'!), theory provides the framework for action, particularly in an action research context.
Hi David, Isn't "the invisible Hand of the Marketplace" management theory?
Gwen
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