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David_Gerard comments on Open Thread: December 2011 - Less Wrong Discussion
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And just wait until you get to "critical theory". I fear the word "theory" in English is indeed stretched in a continuous fog from the hardest of physics to the foggiest of spurious postmodernist notions, with little in the way of joins to carve it at. Thus, cross-domain equivocation will be with us for a while yet.
And? Invoking critical theory doesn't scare me off. I'm as post-modern as you are likely to meet here at LW.
I agree that the the word "theory" needs an adjective or it is underspecified. Scientific theories are different from moral theories. Let me repeat: If I can't talk about the "theory" of utilitarianism, what word should I use instead to capture the concept?
I think we're furiously agreeing here. I have no problem with you using the word "theory" there, but I do think some theories have more explanatory power (which I think of as "better") than others, wherever we are on the spectrum I posit from physics to fog. My interests are largely at the foggy end and how to come up with theories with explanatory power at the foggy end is something I'm presently wrestling with.