ABSTRACT
Contemporary sociologists have been preoccupied with "theory," yet have seldom tried to make clear what a theory is. This chapter describes the essential features of a theory. It considers the intellectual confusions and practical difficulties that get in the way of the construction of theories in sociology. The chapter examines the differences between the main types of sociological theory. A theory consists, of a set of propositions, each stating a relationship, such as "varies directly with," between at least two of the properties, and the propositions form a deductive system. Some of the propositions of a scientific theory must be contingent, in the sense that experience is relevant to their truth or falsity or to that of propositions derived from them. The usual trouble with mathematical models in sociology is that they contain too few contingent equations to enable them, however beautiful the mathematics, to explain the empirical facts in any detail.
