Literary notes about theory (AI summary)
In literature, the term "theory" is employed with remarkable versatility, acting as both a framework for explaining complex phenomena and as a means of probing deeper intellectual, aesthetic, or political issues. Some authors use it to formulate scientific or natural explanations, as when it underpins discussions of natural selection and descent [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Others deploy "theory" to critique established doctrines or to shape ideas on governance, art, and human behavior, thereby inviting readers to question the validity of prevailing assumptions [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. In this way, "theory" transcends a simple technical term, becoming a dynamic tool through which literature addresses ambiguity, contradiction, and the evolving nature of insight [11, 12, 13, 14].
- Many other facts are, as it seems to me, explicable on this theory.
— from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin - Turning to geographical distribution, the difficulties encountered on the theory of descent with modification are serious enough.
— from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin - But why, on the theory of creation, they should not have been created there, it would be very difficult to explain.
— from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin - This great fact of the parallel succession of the forms of life throughout the world, is explicable on the theory of natural selection.
— from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin - Cases of this nature are common, and are, as we shall hereafter more fully see, inexplicable on the theory of independent creation.
— from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin - As in any other system which has so vast a hierarchy with so many grades of honor and authority, its theory of democracy is now a memory.
— from The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji by William Elliot Griffis - “The theory that people are fit to govern themselves rests on this man.
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald - But there are still stronger objections to this theory of government in the terms in which it is usually stated.
— from Considerations on Representative Government by John Stuart Mill - His theory demanded design and the perfection of literary finish.
— from Volpone; Or, The Fox by Ben Jonson - However far wrong we may believe him to have gone in his speculative theory, his devout spirit must ever inspire esteem.
— from Know the Truth: A Critique on the Hamiltonian Theory of Limitation by Jesse Henry Jones - It is certainly not the least charm of a theory that it is refutable; it is precisely thereby that it attracts the more subtle minds.
— from Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - [77] Goltz first applied the inhibition theory to the brain in his 'Verrichtungen des Grosshirns,' p. 39 ff.
— from The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James - The notion underlying this theory is probably true, but the theory itself can hardly stand.
— from Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by A. C. Bradley - For the moment I will content myself with saying that the powers of logic seem to me very much less than this theory supposes.
— from The Analysis of Mind by Bertrand Russell
