社会学的“理论化”有章法可循吗？（Swedberg2014）

Swedberg, Richard. 2014. “From Theory to Theorizing.” In Theorizingin Social Science: The Context of Discovery, edited by Richard Swedberg,1–28. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.

跑了轮数据、转了圈田野，最后拿到手里的，还是碎片，只是故事，只是情节，只是数字， toosimple too naïve无非是说这些——太不够理论化。

——那么，到底什么是理论化呢？

——理论我知道呀，一打开各种教科书，但好像都和我要研究的，数据或田野，都没关系似的，那么到底要怎么理论化呢？步骤是什么？方法是什么？道道是什么？

也许老师自己会搞理论化，但问题是——这一套“理论化”怎么教给别人？？？

似乎，传统的观点是personalism

——theterm refers to the fact that theorizing will only be successful if one delvesdeeply into one’s own self and experiences.

Richard Swedberg试图要解决这个问题，尽管不可否认这样的personalism，但是他想提供一些步骤上的启发，于是有了近年来的一系列作品，见下：

Swedberg, Richard. 2012. “Theorizing in Sociology and Social Science: Turning to the Context of Discovery.” Theory and Society41 (1): 1–40.

———.2014. Theorizing in Social Science. StanfordUniversity Press.

———. 2016a. “Before Theory Comes Theorizing or How toMake Social Science More Interesting: Before Theory Comes Theorizing.” The British Journal of Sociology 67 (1): 5–22.

———. 2016b. “Reply to the Commentators: Reply to the Commentators.” The British Journal of Sociology 67 (1): 57–70.【BJS组织的专栏讨论，有5位学者评论了他的作品。】

———. 2016. “Can You Visualize Theory? On the Use of Visual Thinking in Theory Pictures, Theorizing Diagrams, and Visual Sketches.” SociologicalTheory 34 (3): 250–75.

影响Swedberg的，主要是Charles S.Peirce asmy guide. The writings by Peirce, especially “How to Theorize” and “Training in Reasoning.

由此，他将自己这份工作放在两个定位

 1. 主要是在the Context ofDiscovery

Hans Reichenbach and Karl Popper关注the Context of Justification之外的the Context of Discovery。 

 二者界定如下：

 Reichenbach defined thecontext of discovery as “the form in which [thinking processes] are subjectively performed,” and the context of justification as“the form in which thinking processes are communicatedto other persons” (Reichenbach 1938: 6).

更通俗地讲，发现=想谁是凶手，辩护=法庭证言。To use an analogy from thearea of criminal justice: when you are trying to figure out who the murdereris, you are in the context of discovery; when you are in court and have toprove your case, you are in the context of justification.

 再说白点，发现=what is appropriate in the contextof justification.

2. 在理论与理论的检验之前

If we for the moment view thescientific enterprise as consisting of three elements—one goes from (1) theorizing,to (2) theory, to (3) the testing of theory—only the second and thirdelements received sustained attention in social science.

3. 批判6070s年代兴起过的“theory construction”，认为它们只是the “verification approach” of Merton and other Columbia University sociologists…they were primarily interested in the context of justification【such as Constructing Social Theories by Arthur Stinchcombe, and An introduction to Models in theSocial Sciences by Charles Lave and Jim March (Willer 1967; Stinchcombe1968; Lave and March [1975] 1993).】

4.他认为的The Basic Steps of Theorizing inSocial Science是the full cycle of theorizing goes from observation to explanation,

Step 1: Observe, and Choose Something Interesting to Investigate【观察得事实】
You can only theorize on the basis of observation. Anything that can
stimulate an extensive view of the phenomenon should be used, from
sturdy scientific facts to art in various forms. “Don’t think but look!”
(Wittgenstein)

Step 2: Name and Formulate the Central Concept【命名得概念】
Give a name to what you observe and try to formulate a central concept
based on it. Here as elsewhere abduction (Peirce) is the key.

Step 3: Build Out the Theory【概念变理论】
Give body to the central concept by outlining the structure, pattern, or
organization of the phenomenon. Use analogies, metaphors, and comparisons—andall in a heuristic way to get a better grip on the phenomenon under study.

Step 4: Complete the Tentative Theory,Including the Explanation【理论得解释】
Formulate or model a full tentative theory of the phenomenon, with
special emphasis on the explanation that constitutes the natural end of
the theorizing process.

 （Sociological理论大缸第93期）

本辑结束：

第93期=本期 

第92期 社会学theory是怎么增长与进步的？理论研究纲领的回答

第91期 反Abend（2008）：竞争出社会学theory的paradigm

第90期 当我们说社会学“理论”时，theory指的应该/是什么？（Abend2008）